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Bulked Up “Boiled Water”

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 20 minutes

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 6 to 10 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 pound French or Italian bread (slightly stale bread is fine), cut into thick slices
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
  • Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine 6 cups water with the garlic, bay leaf, and some salt and pepper in a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover partially, and turn the heat to very low. Let the liquid bubble gently for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, brown the bread slices in the oil, turning once, for a total of about 5 minutes. (Work in batches if the pan is too crowded.)

3. To serve, put a slice or two of bread in a shallow bowl and top with some grated cheese. Strain the soup into the bowls, and garnish with parsley.

— Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Recipe variations

Roasted Garlic Soup

Substitute 10 or more cloves Roasted Garlic for the crushed garlic. Or put the crushed garlic in the skillet with the olive oil and cook over medium-low heat until fragrant and just starting to color, about 4 minutes. Fish out the garlic, chop it finely, and add it to the pot in Step 1.

 

Tomato-Garlic Soup

Add 2 cups chopped tomato (canned is okay; don’t drain) in Step 1. Don’t strain the soup.

 

Lime-Garlic-Coconut Soup

Omit the olive oil, bread, and cheese. Juice and zest 2 limes. In Step 1, use 1 can of coconut milk and 3 cups of water, along with the lime zest. Omit Step 2. In Step 3, add the lime juice to the soup right before straining. If you like, ladle the soup over a small mound of plain white rice, bean threads, or rice vermicelli. Garnish with cilantro instead of parsley.
 

6 Ways to Bulk Up “Boiled Water” and its Variations

 
For all of these ideas don’t strain the soup in Step 3; just remove the bay leaves and ladle it into the bowls. Feel free to mix and match, too.
 
1. Add 3 cups cooked or canned beans or lentils to the pot in Step 1.
 
2. Poach 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or tenders in the seasoned water in Step 1; this usually takes 5 to 10 minutes depending on their thickness.
 
3. Cook 1 pound peeled shrimp or cleaned, sliced squid in the seasoned water in Step 1; this will only take about 3 minutes (a little longer if the seafood was frozen when it when into the pot).
 
4. Beat 4 eggs. Just before serving, pour them into the seasoned liquid in a steady stream, stirring constantly until they begin to set; remove the pot from the heat immediately.
 
5. Just before serving, simmer 1 pound chopped greens—like arugula, spinach, kale, watercress, or chard — in the seasoned water until meltingly tender. (Delicate leaves will take longer than sturdier ones so use your judgment.)
 
6. Use the seasoning liquid as a vehicle for leftover simply cooked meat and/or vegetables. Warm them in the seasoning liquid just before serving.