Sopa castellana

Ingredients

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• 250 g day-old bread (preferably country loaf or Valladolid bread), thinly sliced

• 6 garlic cloves

• 100 g diced ham

• 4 eggs

• 1 litre meat or chicken stock

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

• Salt

Preparation

1. 01Fry garlic and hamIn an earthenware pot, heat the oil and gently fry the sliced garlic with the ham over low heat, without letting them burn.
2. 02Add the paprikaWhen the garlic starts to brown, take the pot off the heat for a moment and stir in the paprika so it does not burn.
3. 03Cook the bread in the stockReturn to the heat, add the hot stock and the sliced bread. Cook about 10 minutes, until the bread is well soaked and almost falling apart.
4. 04Add the eggsYou can beat the eggs and pour them in while stirring, or serve the soup in individual small pots and poach an egg in each. Cook until the egg sets.
5. 05Finish and serveAdjust the salt and serve piping hot. For a gratinated version, put the small pots in the oven until a crust forms.

Variations

• In some areas chorizo is used instead of ham, or the broth from cooking blood sausage, calducho, instead of chicken stock.
• There are versions with tomato, and another common style is beaten egg set in the oven, with a crust.