Classic sopa de ajo (garlic soup) is one of my all-time favorite Spanish comfort foods. It’s easy to make with 6 ingredients in less than 30 minutes, and always tastes so cozy and delicious.
Next week will mark the 5th anniversary of our move to Barcelona, which feels completely surreal but also so, so wonderful. Easily five of the best years of my life! So to celebrate, I thought it was only appropriate to finally share one of my very, very favorite recipes I’ve come to love during our time living here…
…sopa de ajo (garlic soup). ♡
Also called sopa castellana (Spanish soup), this traditional recipe is one that I believe every soup lover around the world should have in their repertoire. It’s made with a super-simple ingredient list of bread, eggs, olive oil, and broth, and seasoned with smoked paprika and lots of garlic. (Sidenote: I always love that garlic cloves are called dientes de ajo or “garlic teeth” in Spanish, which seems appropriate coming from a head of garlic!) This soup is a favorite way to make use of leftover bread in the wintertime, which is sautéed and then simmered in the garlicky-paprika broth to help give it some body. Then, as a final touch, eggs can either served poached in the individual serving bowls of soup or stirred directly into the hot pot of broth to form egg ribbons, similarly to how egg drop soup is made. Everything comes together easily in less than a half hour. And the result is a hot bowl of soup that is unfailingly cozy, hearty, and full of deliciously smoky, savory and slightly sweet flavors.
I seriously love this soup so much and wish I could ladle each of you up a bowl here in our Barcelona kitchen tonight. But hopefully you’ll take my word for it and simmer up a quick pot for yourself soon. Que aproveche!
