Yummy Garlic Soup with Asparagus and Poached Eggs Recipe

The famous food author and editor Ruth Reichl said it best: “If everyone ate more garlic, the world would be a happy place.” This rich, garlicky broth, boasting a minimum of seven cloves of garlic per serving and studded with bright green asparagus and shimmering poached eggs, will make you and yours very happy, indeed.

Don’t forget you can make the soup a couple of days in advance up to the point of adding the asparagus. Then just store it covered in the fridge. When ready to serve, bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat, add asparagus, and follow the rest of the instructions. And if you don’t particularly like the egg ingredient, change it up by adding one 15-ounce can butter beans or lima beans, drained and rinsed instead.

Try this recipe from“The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy” and let us know what you think!

Garlic Soup with Asparagus and Poached Eggs

Serves 2

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small heads garlic (about 20–22 cloves) cloves separated, peeled, and smashed
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1⁄2–1 teaspoon kosher salt (depending on the saltiness of your broth)
• 1 pound asparagus, woody ends snapped off, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 2 large eggs
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
• freshly ground black pepper for serving

Heat oil in a stockpot over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes, until just barely beginning to turn golden brown. Add broth and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 60 minutes, until broth is fully infused with garlic flavor.

Remove garlic cloves with a slotted spoon. Taste, and add additional salt if needed. If more garlic flavor is desired, mash 6 to 8 (or more) of the cooked garlic cloves with the back of a fork and stir into the broth. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add asparagus, and cook about 3 minutes.

Crack the eggs into the soup. Simmer the eggs and asparagus in the broth for 4 minutes more, until asparagus is tender and egg is poached but the yolk is still runny. Ladle the soup into two bowls, placing one egg in each. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and freshly ground pepper, and serve immediately.

Serve it with toasted rustic bread, such as walnut levain or whole wheat sourdough.

Special thanks to Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin, authors of “The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy” for this delicious recipe.