Garlic and bread soup reminds you to stay curious in the kitchen

When was the last time you were surprised by a recipe? As you might imagine given my profession, it doesn’t happen to me very often. Usually I’m able to get a good sense of how a dish will turn out just by looking at the ingredient list. That’s how I go about selecting cookbook recipes to feature in this column: I flip through the pages looking for dishes that are weeknight-friendly, not very similar to what we’ve published before and seem like they would taste good.

My cooking intuition is usually pretty spot-on. Some recipes might not be perfect or written the way I would have written them, but often a few small tweaks are all that’s needed before I share them with you. (As far as I can recall, only once have I shelved a recipe after testing it.) Many times, the results are what I expected before heading into the kitchen, but this garlic and bread soup turned out to be greater than the sum of its parts.

The ingredient list is pretty sparse: olive oil, scallions, garlic, paprika, eggs, bread and stock. I obviously thought it would be tasty — or else I wouldn’t have picked it out from the cookbook “Milk Street Shorts” by Christopher Kimball — but it exceeded my expectations. The way these humble ingredients were combined resulted in a soup that felt decadent and luxurious because of its velvety texture. The keys? Bread and eggs.

Though not something I’d done before, thickening soups with bread is a common technique in Mediterranean cuisines. You can find it used in traditional recipes for gazpacho and ribollita (a Tuscan stew of vegetables and beans). Throwing in a few chunks of bread is an easy, economical way to make a brothy soup feel more substantial and turn it into a filling meal.

This soup is inspired by sopa de ajo, Spanish garlic soup, which features a broth flavored with generous amounts of garlic and paprika. Typically, stale or toasted bread is simmered in that broth until it breaks down and gives body to the soup. Then, whole eggs are whisked in at the end to form thin ribbons, akin to egg drop soup.

Part of what sets Kimball’s version apart is that fresh bread is used to thicken the soup, and some of it is fried with scallion greens in a skillet for a crisp crouton garnish. (You’ll need to whisk the bread vigorously after it softens so it is evenly incorporated.) The other differentiator is that it uses only egg yolks instead of whole eggs. (Save the whites for another use.) Carefully incorporating them into the broth adds richness while maintaining its smooth texture.

The lush, unctuous soup filled me with a greater sense of comfort than I was expecting. It was pleasantly smoky from the paprika and felt like it was giving me a hug from the inside with each spoonful I ate.

One of the greatest joys of my career is when I discover a new (to me) culinary nugget and get to share it with readers, to (hopefully) inspire us all to always maintain a sense of curiosity.

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Garlic and Bread Soup

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for serving

1 bunch scallions (5 ounces), thinly sliced, white and dark green parts separated

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 teaspoons sweet paprika

1½ teaspoons smoked paprika

6 ounces sourdough bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups), divided

6 cups no-salt-added or reduced-sodium chicken broth or stock

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

¼ teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

4 large egg yolks

In a medium (3-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 3 tablespoons of the oil, the scallion whites and the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the alliums just begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the sweet and smoked paprikas and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and darkened, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup of the bread cubes, followed by the broth.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the broth to a simmer. Cook, whisking occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer, until the broth thickens slightly and the bread is very soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Whisk vigorously to break down the bread, then remove from the heat.

While the broth mixture cooks, in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, the remaining 3 cups of bread and the reserved scallion greens. Sprinkle with the pepper and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the croutons are browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. You should have about 2 cups, as the bread shrinks during cooking.

When the broth mixture is ready, add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and gradually whisk in 1 cup of the hot liquid. Vigorously whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the soup. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Divide the soup among bowls, top with the croutons and drizzle with more oil. Serve immediately.

Servings: 4 (makes about 6 cups of soup)

Total time: 45 minutes

Substitutions: For scallions, use more garlic. For sourdough, use other rustic bread. Vegetarian? Use vegetable broth or water. Gluten-free? Use gluten-free bread.

Storage: Store the scallion croutons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Refrigerate the soup for up to 4 days. For the best texture, reheat the soup gently over low to medium-low heat until warmed through.

Nutritional information per serving (1½ cups soup and ½ cup croutons): 425 calories, 29 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 29 g carbohydrates, 598 mg sodium, 184 mg cholesterol, 15 g protein, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar.

— Adapted from “Milk Street Shorts” by Christopher Kimball (Voracious, 2025)