Sopa de ajo (con huevo), aka, garlic soup

This is also a different sort of post. I won't be showing you lots of pictures that I've taken myself. I'm just going to link you to a soup recipe on Youtube that I came across recently. And this post doesn't really have anything to do with New Zealand, except that this is a good hearty soup for cold, rainy weather and as you can tell from my header, we have a bit of that going on right now. 

You may know that I'm a big fan of You tube. I use it to research all sorts of things, and not just the music videos that I've occasionally inserted into various posts. I also like some of the old cooking shows. Just today I was watching Two Fat Ladies cook Rrrabit Isabel and honey tarts for the Cambridge rowing team. That's entertainment. 

Anyway, when your tastes in videos run along eclectic lines, the powers that run You tube keep track and sometimes select other videos that may be of interest, and offer them to you for viewing. One such offering that I received recently was this video for Garlic Soup. 

This is a Spanish dish, so of course I was very open to the idea from the get-go. It is in fact a 'signature dish' at the oldest restaurant in Madrid, Sobrino de Botin, which has been in continuous operation since 1725. It doesn't take many ingredients. It takes only about 20 minutes to prepare (once you've done the prep work) and it is delicious. Oh, and making it will make you feel as if you are a famous chef. 

If you've already made up your mind that you wouldn't like it because it'll taste too garlicky, stop for a minute and reconsider...keep reading. 

I've made this twice now for Jeanne and Allie and they both love it. Look at this video with an open mind. I know that I had to overcome some assumptions myself when I watched this the first time and considered whether I'd make it. 

For example, I have always thought that paprika is not much of a spice, as spices go. If I read that a sausage hanging in the meat aisle at the supermarket had paprika in it, I'd probably pass it by, assuming that it would be bland and uninteresting. Well, this recipe calls for about two teaspoons of the stuff and guess what? I like paprika. Who knew?

And I have never been a big fan of crumbling up packet after packet of crackers into my soup like some people commonly do. This recipe however, calls for LOTS of bread for the soup. But that works too.

And who ever heard of topping your soup with a poached egg? Not me, that's  for sure. I think that the poached egg is Perfect in this soup. 

Okay, if you're still reading, that means you are open minded about trying new things. My guess is that you Will decide to open this link. Go ahead, I dare you.... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fixHiTWKRWA

Just a couple of tips here. You can use any kind of bread for this, but if you can find some really crusty bread, that's the best thing to use. I would go so far as to limit how much of the inside, soft white part of the bread I would use. I don't want my bread to mush up too much.

And I didn't slice up the garlic in such a fancy way. I used one whole 'head' (note that the chef called this soup 'one of history's great garlic delivery systerms') and just chopped up the cloves any which way. My taste buds couldn't tell the difference. 

I also made my own chicken broth for the soup. I bought 3 pints of chicken broth at the supermarket, but then improved it by boiling a chicken, a carrot, an onion, and a stalk of celery in it. Then strained it. 

Do a minimum of stirring. Again, you don't want to make it mushy.  

Well, have I convinced you? Consider it anyway. And if you do make it, you really will feel like a famous chef. 

One other thought regarding chefs. You'll notice that I italicised onion a couple of paragraphs ago. That is because I studied under one of the great chefs of the world during Michigan's deer hunting seasons for about 20 years. His smoked pork ribs, bbq sauce, hot sauce, amazing steaks, standing rib roasts, gumbo, and many other specialties are unsurpassed. And his garlic bread; well, you haven't lived.....

Anyway, he always pronounces onion with a French accent. Therefore, I always write it onion to remind myself to strive in my cooking to reach the heights that chef Fred has achieved. If you too, start to say onion, rather than onion, whenever possible, I think that your food will benefit from having been cooked with the proper mind set. Go ahead, try it right now while you're alone...onion....onion.....onion...(Your garlic soup will thank you) 

And here is the link to another great food video. It is of Chef Fred himself, relaxing at his summer home, cooking me a steak that I'll always remember. (for this kind of steak, he swears by oak wood that has been allowed to reduce to nearly, but not quite embers.)

Like the guy in the soup video said, "Enjoy."                                              -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4RmnxmR6XI&list=UUDtva3lsXJMYFV3BIZz6bRw&index=71