Garlic and Paprika Soup

Soups come in a wide variety of styles and ingredients. A hardy stew is a thing of beauty, but just as beautiful are broth and bread soups. A broth soup gets its depth from a complex balance of flavors of the broth itself, sometimes simple but no less beautiful. A good bowl of Pho may take days to make the broth, but that broth is the soul of the soup. Otherwise it is just wet noodles. Or, in this case, soggy bread.

Spanish garlic soup is an old, rustic style of broth soup. Made from common local ingredients to old world Spain, this quick version still has an amazing depth of flavor for its limited focus on only 4 main ingredients: Bread, Oil, Garlic and Smoked Paprika. Since we can't call it the Holy Trinity, lets call it the Hallowed Four.

This instruction set does not include making the bread itself, only converting it to croutons. While an integral part of this soup, the proper style of bread is beyond the writers current skill level so we will rely on purchased bread.

For a 4-5 cup batch of soup we will need:

Garlic - 1/2 cup crushed fresh garlic, about 15 cloves. Yes, that is a lot of garlic but it is the point to the soup. Using fresh garlic is important. Garlic from the jar does not work as well in this as the act of cooking the fresh garlic is what develops the flavor as well as that weird chemical taste that the jarred stuff has. It works best if the garlic is actually sliced paper thin across the grain as shown. It may be a little masochistic, but it only takes a couple minutes although you can crush/chop it also and it will be just fine.

Chicken Broth - 4 cups. Homemade is great, but I personally just use the Gordon Foods brand roast chicken soup base. Hate me if you must, but that soup base is essential to life. Just follow the instructions on the jar and it works very well for chicken broth which is also why this was not counted as a main ingrediant. It can be vegetable broth or any mild flavorful broth. You can improve any condensed broth by adding a packet of plain gelatin for more body, but that little bit of extra is lost on this soup as the oil carries it. The one downfall to using condensed soup base is the amount of salt is preset, but it does the job and does it well.

Olive oil - about a half cup, maybe more - 1/4 cup each for the soup and the croutons. Decent quality extra virgin oil but no need for the salad grade stuff as all that grassy flavor will cook out of it anyway. DON'T substitute vegetable oil or bacon grease for this.

Smoked Paprika - 1 heaping Tablespoon. Yes, that is one full heaping TABLESPOON or more if you like. Along with the garlic, this is the costar of the show so use a lot. Paprika is a type of chili that has medium heat and has been smoke dried then ground to a powder. Use the smoked variety. The hot unsmoked variety will probably work also but the smoke is the bomb. It is a wonderful ingredient to compliment the garlic and is something that was also grown in Spain although Hungary gets the most attention as the source for this spice. Personally, I have the luxury of home grown and home smoked paprika (the small jar in the image), however the sheer volume used in this soup will wipe out the supply in a hurry so I normally just use the cheaper stuff. If you can get the good stuff, use it at least once to know the flavor, but be realistic. Get the best you can and don't sweat it.

Bread - Half a loaf of chewy open crumb bread. The style of bread is important as the texture is what matters. The term "artisan" can be overused, but you need an artisan style bread with an open crumb and a chewy texture. A good rustic sour dough works well for this. In my area, there are no artisan bread makers and I don't have the personal skill set for making the bread so my best option is a store bought baguette. Slightly stale ones work well for this as it will be turned into croutons. The texture needs to be able to soak up the soup without immediately falling apart. If all you can get is commercial croutons, then use what you got just know that the texture will suffer. A lot.

That is it for the ingredients. Really, that is it. Check the image if you don't believe me. Otherwise, you will just need a few basic kitchen tools including:

8 cup soup pot

baking sheet

knife and cutting board

stove top and oven

Garlic Goodness

Slice the garlic paper thin across the grain until you have a half cup. Or, if you must, crush or chop it with the tool of your choice. This seems an insane amount of garlic, but as it is cooks it will sweeten and disperse through the broth and the chunks will soften nicely so don't skimp. If you actually overdo it, it will merely sweeten the dish more. Worst case you can mark yourself safe from vampires and door to door salesmen.

Place the garlic in the pot with about a quarter cup of the oil. How much oil depends on the pot as you want the olive oil to mostly cover the garlic so the garlic is basically deep fried. The oil is essential to this soup as it brings the richness to the soup, so don't skimp on the oil.

With the heat set to LOW, cook the garlic about five minutes stirring it regularly. Keep the heat on low so the garlic does not burn but gives up its flavor to the oil and slowly starts to toast. As you can see in the images, the garlic starts white and is just barely starting to turn toasty tan on the edges when it is finished.

Toasty is Tasty

As soon as the garlic is starting to toast, keep the heat on low and add the paprika. Keep stirring it for about a minute to give time for the paprika to meld with the oil before adding the chicken broth. Yes, this looks a little scary and has been compared to a crime scene. Run with it, it is all good.

Increase the heat and bring the broth to a boil, then turn it back down to as low as possible to let it simmer for a half hour. This simmering is what will finish softening the garlic and meld it with the paprika so longer simmer time is better but if you go too long you may have to add a little water to keep the volume up. This is also the point where you can adjust the salt if needed, but if using a condensed soup base then it is usually good to go.

Crouton Crunch

As the soup is simmering, now is the time to make the croutons. The bread is essential to this recipe. The broth on its own is good, but is a bit strong to simply drink it (although that is not out of the question). Adding the bread makes it perfect. The trick is to use an artisan style "white" bread so it has a high gluten content to be as chewy as possible. A sourdough is a nice flavor that goes well with the garlic but use what you can get. If your bread is not chewy enough, it will still work but the crouton will immediately disintegrate into the soup so it is better if the crouton can soak up the broth and still hold some texture. In my area, my only option is "take and bake" baguettes and they work pretty good. For a four cup batch of broth, we need about half a baguette.

Cut the bread into croutons about 3/4 inch cubes so they are bite size. Toss it with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil to coat (this is what makes the crouton spongy). Adding additional seasoning to the crouton is lost in this soup, so keep it simple. But, in the end, it is your soup so do what you will. Spread the croutons on a baking sheet and place in a 300 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

How long it will really take in the oven can vary a lot. If your bread is fresh and moist, it may take 20 minutes. If it is older and more dry to begin with, then it may take less time. As you can see in the images, the bread is white at the start and when it comes out of the oven it is just barely browning on the edges. The goal is the crouton should be dry to the touch, but still a little bit spongy when squeezed. Just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you want them in the middle. If you let them bake until they are completely dry like a salad crouton, then they will soak up all the broth immediately and fall apart. If not dried enough, they will just float around and not soak up the broth. If they are dry but still spongy, then that is perfect as they will soak up the broth slowly while you are spooning them up.

Alternative Croutons (when you just gotta be different)

This process as outlined is how I make this soup as the quick easy method. Another option to consider is to put the entire half cup (or more) of oil in with the garlic/paprika right up front. Then strain off the seasoned oil right before adding the broth to use to coat the croutons as opposed to using plain olive oil to coat the croutons. This makes a tastier crouton with all the flavor in it before it ever touches the broth. In my personal opinion, though, this is not worth the hassle. It looks pretty to have bright red croutons, but it weakens the broth itself. Feel free to do it as it is dramatic, but I prefer to do them with separate oil.

Consider yourself warned, that bright red oil is pretty, but it is a very permanent Rorschach blotch on your shirt (crime scene level).

Fruits of Our Labor

Now for the moment of truth. Shut off your cell phone to avoid interruptions. Fill your bowl (this should make 2 servings) with the broth. Make sure to stir it before scooping so you get an equal mix of oil and garlic in each bowl. Add in a big handful of croutons and enjoy. The croutons will slowly soak up the broth as you go. Enjoy with a good beer and you can't ask for much more of four ingredients.

This soup stores well in the fridge, just leave out the croutons until you serve.