Sopa de Ajo: the traditional Spanish soup recipe

This hearty Spanish bread soup is rich in garlic, paprika and pieces of ham. It’s also topped off with eggs poached in the broth itself, which makes it a hearty, comforting dish for cold winter days.

Although the soup itself is quite easy to make, poaching eggs requires a bit of skill, so it’s not perhaps a recipe for complete beginners.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350F/160C/gas mark 4.

Chop the bread into rough cubes, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.

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Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350F/160C/gas mark 4.

Drizzle with olive oil, and mix around to coat the bread.

Place in the oven for around 15 minutes (or until bread turns crispy).

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Step 4

Chop the bread into rough cubes, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.

Remove from the oven and leave to one side.

Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients. Thinly slice the garlic, chop the ham, and prepare the chicken stock.

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Step 7

Drizzle with olive oil, and mix around to coat the bread.

Put the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and add the garlic slices.

Cook over medium heat until the garlic is just starting to go golden. Turn the heat down to low and cook gently for another few minutes.

Add the diced ham to the garlic and stir over gentle heat around for around 1 minute.

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Step 10

Place in the oven for around 15 minutes (or until bread turns crispy).

Add the paprika and stir it around for another minute, then remove from the heat and add the roasted bread cubes. Stir until bread is coated in the oil and paprika mixture.

Pour the chicken stock into the pan, and raise the heat to high until it boils. Add salt and pepper. Add more liquid if the soup looks too thick.

Turn the heat to medium, and add parsley.

Crack the eggs into individual ramekin dishes, and make a couple of depressions in the surface of the soup. Slide the eggs gently into these depressions.

Cover until the eggs are poached to your liking.

Serve a bowl of soup, topped with an egg. Drizzle some olive oil over the egg, add a pinch of cayenne pepper and some more chopped parsley.

Notes

The soup needs to be thick enough to support the weight of the eggs on the surface, so don’t thin it too much, or your eggs will sink to the bottom and break.