A traditional Castilian recipe that can be easily found in almost the entire Spanish territory. One of the simplest preparations of our gastronomy, based on the use of bread, but forceful, tasty and nutritious.
INGREDIENTS (4 people):
200 grams (7 oz) of hard rustic bread (at least the previous day)
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon sweet or spicy paprika (to taste)
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
5 cups of bottled or filtered water
1 egg (optional) or 4 (to serve an egg for each guest)
In a casserole with a generous stream of olive oil, brown the garlic cloves, peeled and whole until golden brown (watch that they do not burn).
When they have browned we remove from heat and mash them with the teaspoon of paprika, adding when everything is well mashed and mixed a drizzle of olive oil so that it flirts as if it were a sauce.
In the same casserole where we have fried the garlic cloves, now out of the fire, we incorporate the bread cut into small pieces. Add the water and bring to the fire to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the mashed 5 minutes before putting out the fire.
If you want to make it more nutritious, an egg is cracked and with the rods we break it so that it crumbles into orange pieces (the yolk) and white (to clear) curds. You can also poach in the same soup carefully a whole egg per diner.
Salt rectified and ready to serve, as is or with a piece of fried bread on top.