SOPA DE PAN
Not necessarily Thanksgiving Day dinner-driven, but a great recipe for any leftover “stuffing” or bread mish-mosh.
RECIPE: Leftover Stuffing Sopa de Pan y Ajo (Bread and Garlic Soup)
Adapted & prepared by Bill St John from “The Taste of Mexico,” by Patricia Quintana and “Delicioso,” by Penelope Casas. If the leftover stuffing already contains raisins or nuts (as some do), simply omit that ingredient from the list. Makes 4-6 servings.
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (or a mix of sweet and hot)
Pinch saffron, crushed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken or turkey stock
1/4 cup raw or toasted peeled almonds, sliced
1/4 cup golden or green raisins
4 cups leftover bread stuffing
2 cups leftover cooked vegetables, chopped or shredded (roasted white potatoes, yams, green beans, Brussels sprouts, sautéed greens, or any mix)
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and sliced lengthwise
Directions
These directions are for a 2-quart gratin or chafing dish. The recipe may be halved or multiplied accordingly. Oil the gratin dish.
In a 2-quart or larger pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until it just shimmers. Toss in the garlic and swirl it around in the oil for 30 seconds, no more; do the same with the paprika, saffron and black pepper. Add the stock (carefully) and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Add the almonds and raisins and simmer for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, lay 2 cups of the stuffing in the gratin dish and, atop that, the 2 cups of leftover vegetables.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. When the liquid in the pan is finished cooking, pour it over the vegetables and stuffing in the gratin dish, distributing the raisins and almonds evenly. Layer the remaining 2 cups of stuffing in the gratin dish, gently pushing it down into the liquid to even it out. Place the gratin dish in the oven, uncovered.
After 30 minutes, remove the gratin dish from the oven and set it to rest on the stovetop or other heat-proof surface. (During the baking and depending on how dry the stuffing was to begin, you may find that adding a bit more stock keeps the sopa from getting too dry itself.)
Using a soup spoon, place 1/2 of each egg in the spoon’s bowl and gently make an indentation in the top of the sopa, sliding out the egg. Do this with all 4 quarters of the eggs and let them warm up in the hot sopa for 4-5 minutes, sprinkling the egg quarters with more paprika, hot or sweet, if desired. Serve in warmed bowls.
