Meatless Monday: Sopa de Papas • Potato Soup

4 medium potatoes, diced
2 cups vegetable broth (I made my own, but canned is fine)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
Salt
shredded cheddar cheese (optional

In a soup pot boil your potatoes in 2 cups of vegetable broth until tender but not mushy. In the meantime, sauté your onion, celery and garlic in butter. Add this to your soup pot, add the milk and sour cream and season with salt to taste. Stir. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and turn off the heat. Serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. (You can refrigerate leftovers but may have to add more broth if it thickens too much when reheating).

P.S. My husband, of course, wanted bacon bits. So if you're not doing the vegetarian thing, go right ahead and sprinkle some bacon bits on top with your cheddar cheese.

Meatless Monday: Sopa de Ajo • Garlic Soup

 

The first time I had Sopa de Ajo was 25 years ago in a well-known restaurant called Las Cuevas de Luis Candela in Madrid, Spain.  It was so filling that I did not order an entree. This is a simple peasant soup that is easy to make and very tasty.

4 thick slices of day old bread such as French or Italian

6 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced

4 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika (smoked or sweet)

Salt

5 cups vegetable broth (traditionally it should be beef, but I'm making this vegetarian)

Heat a skillet with your olive oil and lightly cook your 'til aromatic, do not let it burn! Remove the garlic. In the same skillet with the oil, brown your bread slices and set aside. In a large pot heat your vegetable broth with the olive oil from the skillet, the garlic you set aside and the paprika. Add salt to taste. (Traditionally, the next step would be to drop your bread into this pot and let it all cook for about 15 minutes at which point you break open your eggs and drop them in one by one until cooked – about 5-10 minutes)  I'm going to prepare the soup in individual servings because I'm only going to serve myself. (I can freeze the leftover soup broth and add the bread and egg when ready). So, to make individual servings, heat your oven to 350F.  Place a cookie sheet in the oven. Using individual oven proof soup bowls, place a slice of bread on the bottom of your bowl, add your broth, and drop your egg on top. Place your bowls on the cookie sheet and heat for about 10 minutes until the egg is cooked. Carefully remove your soup bowls and enjoy.