Garlic Bread Soup - and other Leftover Tales

This is a literally a recipe which came about because of Leftovers. My usually dependable recipe for paav went kaput and I was left saddled with a laadi of baked but inedible pav. Well one could technically eat them, but not actually enjoy them. Plus I had a dinner with some friends and there was French baguette left over the next day, which became quite hard and stale by the next day since it was outside uncovered while we chatted and ate.

I found a great savoury pudding recipe from Mark Bittman which I adapted to make a bake for the dinner itself. But the French bread was languishing the day after and getting harder everyday. So I looked around and found that soups were another great way of using up leftover bread! And this soup is so good, I would gladly buy fresh bread to make it! A great find by the way for someone like me who loves soup - The Joy of Soup

It looks very ordinary but the combination of garlic and onion and bread is simply awesome. I didn't add as much cheese and stuck to Cheddar instead of Parmesan - but I did use much more garlic and it was just amazing. The flavours of this soup come together very well and I must ask you try this - we had this in 38C weather, so its not like one of those hearty, warming soups which make you feel all full - its quite light.

 

Garlic Bread Soup

Recipe adapted from The Joy of Soup

Onion - 1 chopped
Garlic - half a bulb of garlic - not a clove, but half of a whole garlic, chopped
Bread - crusty French  bread is great, but any bread you want to use up is good. - about 1 cup diced.
1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 3 cups of water. (about 600-700ml)
1 bay leaf
2-3 peppercorns

1/2 tsp paprika powder
salt, pepper and olive oil

1/4 cup cream
2-4 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
parsley/coriander to garnish

1. heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the onions, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves to it. Saute for about 5-7 minutes till the onions turn a little brown.
2. Add salt and the chicken stock and bring to boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes on a low flame and then add the paprika powder and some more salt if needed
3, Add the bread and wait for it to dissolve into the soup. Remove and cool. Blend into a smooth consistency.
4. Add the cream and warm gently on a low flame. Add the cheese and wait till it dissolves or add it individually when serving in bowls. Garnish