Garlic-flavored Tourain from the Southwest

Serves : 6 people

Preparation : 30 minutes

Cooking : 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the soup
15 pods of garlic
2 liters of water
3 eggs
2 branch of thyme
quelques strands of parsley
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of sherry vinegar or wine, if nothing else
1 teaspoon of duck fat or goose fat, or lard, to add flavor!
salt, pepper

For the bread
6 slices of country bread stale
quelques pods of garlic to rub the bread

Instructions

Rinse and crumble the thyme and wild thyme.
Rinse, trim, and chop the parsley leaves.

Crush the garlic cloves with a wooden spatula without peeling them.
Sauté them gently in goose fat with a dash of olive oil.

After 4 to 5 minutes, transfer them to a large pot and immediately pour the water over the browned garlic.
Add the thyme, wild thyme, and parsley.

Simmer for half an hour over low heat.

Meanwhile, crack the eggs, separating the yolks and placing them in the soup tureen, and setting the whites aside in a mixing bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil to the egg yolks and whisk them into a smooth paste, as if making mayonnaise.

Beat the egg whites (with a whisk or fork) separately in a bowl.

Once the broth is ready, pour it into the soup tureen through a strainer or fine-mesh sieve.

Add the egg whites and vinegar to the bowl. Mix well.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Service

Just before serving, slice the country bread and toast it.
Rub each slice with garlic.
Place half a slice of toasted bread in each of your guests’ soup bowls and pour plenty of hot broth over it.
Arrange the remaining slices on a plate so your guests can help themselves to more.

Notes

WHAT TO DRINK WITH THIS GARLIC TOURAIN? Choose a relatively "young" dry red wine from the vineyards of southwestern France, such as a good red Brulhois, a red Côtes de Gascogne, a red Côtes du Tarn, a red Côtes du Lot, or a red Buzet.