My Favorite Breakfast: Bacon and Egg Soup
/For our first food post, I want to share my favorite weekend breakfast dish, EVER! This is heaven - ABSOLUTE LOVE - in a bowl! I am not joking. I could eat this every morning and never grow tired of it. It's that good. In fact, the first time Brad made it for me, I got tears in my eyes. It was beyond words.
Inspired by a recipe he saw in an old Food Network magazine, he simply modified it to fit our diet - and threw in a little love as well. As autumn settles in, and winter approaches, this is a perfect choice for a blustery Saturday or Sunday morning. And if you have a cold or the flu - this is your magic potion! It takes about 30 - 45 minutes, start to finish.
By the way, we started eating Gluten Free in 2005, so all of our recipes are Gluten Free at the very least. In addition to celiac disease, I also have multiple food intolerances - (soy, corn, potato, dairy, starch, sugar, salicylates, sulfites, preservatives, etc.) - so many of our dishes are also paleo or specific carb diet - oriented.
Bacon and Egg Soup with Parmesan Croutons (makes 4 servings, or 2 extra-hearty)
Ingredients:
1/2 gluten free rustic baguette, or 2-4 slices gluten free bread for croutons
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
3 cups unsalted chicken stock, no msg
1 cup water
5 pieces bacon, reserve a tablespoon of the bacon fat
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley, (reserve some for garnishing at the end)
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, finely grated and divided for croutons/soup/garnish
Parmesan cheese rind, whatever size you have
Eggs, 2 per bowl/person
To Prepare Croutons: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread into cubes. Spray or toss in olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toast in hot oven until browned and crunchy. Remove pan from oven several times to toss croutons and ensure all sides brown evenly. Gluten free bread gets soggy quickly if not toasted thoroughly, so extra time in the oven will help it retain crunch in the soup. Ovens vary, but 15 to 20 minutes is not unusual. When croutons are browned, turn oven off. Remove pan and sprinkle croutons with some of the Parmesan cheese. Return to oven for a few seconds to melt cheese, then set aside.
(If you are in a hurry, you can toast croutons under the broiler, but you must keep a close eye on them to prevent burning.)
Using a 3qt. high-sided pan, cook 5 slices of bacon. Place cooked, crispy bacon on paper towels. (Do not under cook bacon - flimsy bacon is gross in a soup!) Set aside to cool. Once cooled, crumble it up, removing any fatty, limp bits.
Drain all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan. Add minced garlic and cook until browned. Add a cup of water to the pan to de-glaze, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the tasty bits.
Add 3 cups soup stock, parsley (reserve a bit for garnishing) and Parmesan rind. Heat to a boil. When it starts to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
Add eggs to broth. Break an egg into a tiny bowl and tip it gently into the simmering broth. Repeat with remaining eggs (2 per person). Spoon liquid over egg tops to cook as needed. Remove poached eggs carefully with a slotted spoon. Place two eggs in each bowl.
(Poaching the eggs is the trickiest part. Cook to just under desired consistency, as the eggs continue cooking after you remove them from the pan, plus they cook a little more when you ladle in the hot, finished broth at the end.)
Back to the broth: Add most of the remaining Parmesan to the broth, reserving some for garnish. Whisk to blend and let it simmer for about a minute. Season to taste.
Now put it all together. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the eggs, then carefully ladle broth into bowls. Add croutons, parsley garnish, and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese to finish.
Enjoy! : )