Light Garlic Soup—from Spain

Weather became finally cold enough, at least in the evenings, to think about a bowl of hot soup. All the garlic soups I ate were rich and creamy. They usually either included cheese, cream, eggs, flour, or sometimes, all of them in one recipe. But this garlic soup is very different. It comes from Spanish cuisine. And, when I was making it, I even had doubts if these two basic ingredients used in it—chicken stock and garlic—can really produce anything tasty.

In less than half an hour the soup was ready. When I tasted it, I was surprised how light and good it was. Definitely garlic surfaced in the taste but not too strongly. It had also a very intriguing taste coming from a little bit of sherry added to the soup. I served it with a piece of toasted wholewheat French bread, which added some substance to the delicate texture.

I tested the soup on my son who is a big soup lover. And he liked it a lot. So, today I give you a bowl of light soup that can be a nice start to the upcoming cold season.

Light Garlic Soup

Ingredients:
6–8 garlic heads (should make about 1 and 1/2 cup of clean garlic cloves),
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil,
6 cups chicken stock,
1/3 cup sherry,
1 tsp red chili peppers,
1 tsp ground cumin,
a pinch of saffron powder (if you use saffron threads soak them in the stock for about 20 minutes, then discard them),
salt and pepper to taste,
6 slices of French or Italian country bread.

Preparation:
1. Separate and peel off garlic cloves. In a heavy-duty pot heat the olive oil and add garlic cloves. Cook them on a low heat for about 15 minutes, until they become soft. Do not let them to turn brown. When garlic becomes soft (almost buttery) remove it from the oil and keep aside.

2. Add chili pepper to the oil and heat for about a minute. Pour in chicken stock, sherry, cumin, and saffron. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes.
3. Crush cooked garlic with a fork and add to the chicken stock. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. After that time garlic should almost melt in the stock but if, there are some bigger pieces left, purée them with a hand blender.
4. Season the soup with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Toast the bread and put one in each of 6 bowls. Divide the soup between bowls and serve hot.

Fresh Gazpacho--One-Ingredient Delight

I love gazpacho and make it quite often during hot summer days when I can get field tomatoes that taste best. It is one of the easiest fresh soups, entirely made in a food processor. The best gazpacho I ever tasted was the original, Spanish one--very smooth, almost orange in color.

But a couple weeks ago I was at the party at our Spanish friend's place. He prepared gazpacho entirely from fresh tomatoes. And that was the best gazpacho I ever had. It seemed sparkling from the sherry vinegar, so smooth as if it was whipped, delicate, and so light that it was served in cups like a drink.

As other people already enjoyed grilled meats and there were still many goblets with gazpacho left I discreetly had three of them. And of course I asked our friend about the secret of his soup, which turned out to be that he uses only fresh tomatoes, and only a bit of olive oil and sherry vinegar.

Two days later, when I got some very ripe and juicy tomatoes, my version of his soup was ready. It is indeed almost a one-ingredient soup and the only difficulty comes with straining the soup after it is puréed first, to get rid of the peel and seeds. It takes away some part of the volume so you end up with much less than when you make gazpacho with other vegetables and tomato juice. But if you are a connoisseur of real food, this gazpacho is a summer delight worth making and trying.

Fresh Gazpacho
(Serves six)

Ingredients:
3 lb ripe, juicy tomatoes,
2 small garlic cloves,
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil,
3-4 tbsp sherry vinegar,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Wash tomatoes, cut in quarters and place them in a food processor. Pulse the blender several times until tomatoes make a smooth cream.

2. Strain the sauce through a colander with small holes or a sieve to discard the peel and skins.
3. Return the tomato sauce to the blender, add garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar. Blend all the ingredients until creamy. Add slowly olive oil in three parts and blend well again.
4. Let it chill for about 1/2 hour and serve in glass goblets.