Sopa de Pastor Manchego or Manchego Shepherd Soup is a very traditional, old-fashioned kind of garlic soup from the region of La Mancha. If La Mancha sounds familiar, it’s because that is the region that Cervantes made famous with his novel Don Quijote de la Mancha. It is also a region famous for its wonderful Machego cheeses. This soup is a good starter soup for cold winter days or a main course for a quick dinner ANY time of year.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 cups beef stock
- 6 slices of French-style bread
- 4 eggs
- 1 roasted red pepper
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeno pepper (or other type of hot pepper)
- 2-3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 slices of cured ham, such as jamon serrano – chopped into very small pieces
- salt to taste
- olive oil to saute
Preparation:
Serves 4.
Chop the Pepper. Peel and cut the garlic cloves into thin slices. Peel and chop the onion and the jalapeno pepper.
Sautee the garlic and bread in a frying pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Remove them before the garlic burns. In the same oil, sautee the onion, jalapeno pepper and the red pepper. Return the bread and garlic to the pan.
Pour in the beef broth and bring to a boil. Once the broth is boiling carefully crack each egg into the pan and allow the eggs to cook. Once the eggs are cooked, serve immediately.
As you ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle the top of each with chopped parsley and ham bits. Use a spatula to remove the bread slices and the boiled eggs from the pan without breaking them.
