This is my version of a classic Portuguese soup winemaker and friend Jeff Emery told me about having in Portugal. This is one of those dishes that arose from a very poor culture, making the most out of what was available, such as garlic, eggs, and stale bread. This version is gussied up a bit in that the stock is infused with additional garlic and the stems of the cilantro to really up the flavor. Try this with a Portuguese style wine from Jeff’s Quinta Cruz label for Lisbon vacation on the cheap.
INGREDIENTS:
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced 1 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems separated (Use scissors for ease) 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock Salt and pepper to taste ¼ cup + a little more olive oil-try to use Portuguese or Spanish, otherwise use something a little softer and less peppery than a Tuscan style oil 4 eggs, very fresh 4 ¾ to 1 inch thick slices of day old sturdy “country” style bread, or 3-4 cups 1 inch bread cubes (If bread is fresh, cut and allow to stay out or dry in oven a little)METHOD:
Chop the cilantro stems coarsely. Heat a soup pot large enough to hold the stock over medium heat. When hot, film with oil and then add 2/3rds of the garlic. When fragrant, add the stock and the cilantro stems. Bring to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook gently to infuse flavors for 20-30 minutes. Cook gently enough so the stock does not reduce much, if at all.
Strain the stock into a bowl, discarding the aromatics. Wipe out the pot and return the infused stock to it. Taste for salt and pepper and add more if desired.
Bring stock to a rolling simmer. Crack the eggs one at a time into the stock and poach the eggs 3-4 minutes (or to your liking) until the white is set and the yolks are still soft. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs to a bowl of warm water. (The water helps support the eggs and keeps them from breaking. Warm so the eggs don’t cool too much, and so they don’t cook to hard-boiled while they wait.)
After the eggs have been removed, add the ¼ cup olive oil and boil a couple minutes to emulsify the oil into the stock.
Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and then add the remaining garlic. Simmer gently 5 minutes. While garlic infuses the soup, coarsely chop the cilantro leaves. Stir in the leaves and wait a couple minutes.
While the cilantro infuses the soup, place a slice of bread or ¼ of the bread cubes in each of four bowls.
When ready, ladle the soup evenly into the bowls, and press on the bread to soften it. Use a slotted spoon to transfer a poached egg to each bowl, placing the egg on the slice of bread or with some bread cubes underneath. Drizzle the tops of the soup with a little more oil, then serve a poached egg to each bowl, placing the egg on the slice of bread or with some bread cubes underneath. Drizzle the tops of the soup with a little more oil.
Serve hot. Poke the egg and stir in the yoke to thicken the soup. Stirring the soup into the bread will also thicken the soup.
Chef’s Notes:
To make this even simpler, just heat the stock, add the garlic and cilantro leaves and infuse 5 minutes, then poach the eggs. Transfer the eggs to the bread in the bowls, then ladle out the soup. The above version is less rustic and has a deeper flavor without a lot of chunks of garlic to heat things up. There are versions if this soup where the garlic and cilantro are smashed into a paste in a processor or mortar and pestle, and then added into the stock. This is fine, just try not to boil the soup with the cilantro leaves as the flavor drops off and the leaves darken the soup.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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