Simply made soups are magnificent starters
ingredienti per 4 porzioni (costo circa 2 € ap)
- EV Sunflower (or even better almond) oil
- 4 large or 8 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1 liter chicken or ham stock
- 4 coarse slices of bread
- Sale
- Fresh sage
- Roasted almonds
First of all, we toast the bread in low temperatures, aiming to a totally dry result. We wait for the bread to cool and we grind it very very well into powder. We can also use already made “crackers” from bread. Grinding the bread to powder before adding the liquids, gives us the possibility to avoid the later mixer blending which would provoke a chewy result.
In a pan we add some tablespoons of oil and the garlic cloves and then we turn the heat on. When the garlic starts to turn to pale we add the stock and right after the bread in powder and we continue boiling till the soup becomes thick. We wait until it cools slightly and ……..
– What else, my beloved students?
– Salt, oh captain, my captain!
– Of course SALT. We add salt, we dilute it and we check it again. We also check the acidity of the soup adding, if required, something sour or sweet to balance it.
Many cooks bind further this kind of soups with cream. I find no reason. If the soup seems to your palate bland and untasteful, you can add some parmesan cheese, but I assure you there is no need. Modern cooks prepare all their dishes at the same way, super “dairy” with paranormal and “cheap” umami. We don’t.
What we do is to add FRESH HERBS to raise the natural bouquet of the soup. We, today, chose the sage. Frying it, we make it easier to eat (sometimes the sage is a little fibrous), grind and use for decoration purposes. We also peel, toast and cut the almonds. Thus, we give a touch of luxury and extra fragrance to our soup.
We plate all the ingredients and we serve.
