Bread Soup With An Egg

Course:

Appetizer

Practical information

Prep time

30 min
Cooking

25 min
Difficulty

Pause

1 h
Ready in

1 h 55
Price

Recipe
Comments (1)

Recipe's Ingredients

1 very thin slice bacon
2 eggs
fine salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
½ tablespoons sherry vinegar
4 stalks fresh chives 1.5" long pieces

20 g smoked bacon, 1/5" pieces
120 g country-style bread, cut into 1" slices
25 g chilled butter, diced
350 ml chicken stock
100 ml milk

Recipe preparation steps
1

Preheat oven to 465ºF.
2

Fry bacon pieces in a small saucepan over medium heat until they start to take on color. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and infuse for 1 hour.
3

Place the thin slice of bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the bacon with an additional piece of parchment and then with a couple more baking sheets. It may be necessary to invert the bottom sheet so the bacon is squeezed flat. Bake until the bacon is brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Set the cooked bacon aside on a cooling rack until needed.
4

Bake the bread slices until brown on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Set aside until needed.
5

Wash the eggs in their shells and set aside.
6

When the stock has infused for an hour, strain out the bacon pieces and discard. Combine the stock with the milk and bread in a blender. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes.
7

Strain the puree into a saucepan, add the vinegar and mustard, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
8

Divide the soup among serving bowls. Carefully break each egg. Put the yolk in half of the shell and carefully place in the center of the soup. Reserve the white for other purposes. Decorate each serving with half a bacon slice and half the chives.
Ready !

Dominique.B

January 4, 2010
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I found the story of this recipe on the web : "Zuppa alla Pavese is a soup made with stock, bread and eggs. Despite the simplicity of the ingredients, this soup is regarded as a real delicacy and I totally agree with this opinion. The recipe comes from Pavia, a city not far from Milan, and it seems that it was invented by a farmer during the time of the battle of Pavi in 1525. The legend says that the king of France, Francis I, lost the battle against the emperor Charles V, and tired and wounded found refuge in a farm where he was served with this soup." Clearly a very old recipe, one that really goes well with cold winter days.