Garlic Soup

This is an unusual and surprisingly subtle soup considering all the garlic!
But, be warned, your breath the next day will stop traffic.
It comes out silky white, the consistency of single cream.  It's warming, filling & delicious.  With the bread, it's a meal in itself.
It could be vamped up with a grating of truffle for a really special treat.

• 2 litre water
• 2 bay leaf
• 4 sage leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 24 medium cloves of garlic, smashed peeled, and chopped
• 2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Binding pommade:

• 2 whole egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• 120ml extra virgin olive oil
• day-old crusty bread & more olive oil to drizzle

SERVES 4

Add the bay leaf, sage, thyme, garlic, and salt to the 2litres of boiling water.
Simmer for 40 minutes.
Remove the bay and sage leaves and take the broth off the heat.
Taste and add more salt if needed.
With a fork, whisk the egg, egg yolks, cheese, and pepper together in a bowl until creamy.
Drizzle in the olive oil, beating all the time, then add (slowly! slowly!), continuing to whisk, a couple of large ladlefuls of the broth.
Stir this mixture back into the garlic broth and whisk it continuously over low-medium heat until it thickens slightly, until it is the consistency of cream.  It takes 5-10mins.
Place a handful of torn bread chunks into the bottom of each bowl and pour the soup over the bread.
Finish with a drizzle of olive oil & some more parmesan.
Serve straight away.

The soup can split if you don't whisk it enough.  If this happens, give it a really good whisk and it goes silky again.  Phew.

I got the recipe from a great American blog called 101 cookbooks (see link on site).  I've doubled the amounts and converted it to litres rather than quarts & cups.