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Czech garlic soup with croutons

Czech Garlic Soup with Croutons (Česnečka)

Simple, hearty, and fragrant — ready in no time! Garlic soup with croutons, or česnečka, is a real treat for fans of traditional Czech cooking and food lovers in general. It comes together very quickly, and as it simmers, the whole house fills with the irresistible aroma of garlic and smoked meat.

Maria

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Meat broth

1.5

Pork ribs (smoked)

500

Hard cheese

Bread (for croutons)

Potatoes

Garlic (1 head)

Eggs

Marjoram (1 teaspoon)

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 37 % 7 g

Fats 42 % 8 g

Carbohydrates 21 % 4 g

113 kcal

GI: 75 / 0 / 25

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make fragrant Czech garlic soup with croutons? Very quickly! Start by gathering the ingredients on the list. Pork ribs come in different forms from different producers. You want the kind with meat between the bones. Plain bare bones with the extra meat trimmed off won't work for this soup.
Step 2:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
Step 3:

Cut the meat off the smoked ribs. You can save the bones for another soup — they'll make a rich broth. If you're making the soup with water instead of broth, you can drop the meat-stripped bones into the pot once the water boils and simmer them for 10 minutes. That gives you a broth to build the soup on.
Step 4:

Grate the cheese on the medium side of a grater. Any cheese works — I'm using Tilsit.
Step 5:

Break the head of garlic into cloves and peel each one. Grate the cloves on a fine grater or press them through a garlic press.
Step 6:

Beat the egg with a fork until the white and yolk are combined.
Step 7:

Bring the meat broth to a boil. Add the chopped rib meat, the potatoes, and the garlic. Stir. Cook for 15–20 minutes over medium heat (I use setting 5 out of 9).
Step 8:

Season the soup with salt, ground black pepper, and dried marjoram.
Step 9:

Stirring constantly, pour the beaten egg into the soup in a thin stream. Cook for 1 minute.
Step 10:

Turn off the heat and let the soup rest, covered, for 10–15 minutes.
Step 11:

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each one with grated cheese and croutons. For a striking presentation, serve it in a rye bread bowl: cut the top off a round loaf, carefully scoop out the crumb, leaving a little against the walls, pour in the garlic soup, and serve right away. Enjoy!

Important! Whether or not the recipe gives an amount of water, it's best to go by your own preference (how thick or thin you like your soup), as well as the size of your pot and the ingredients you're using. Keep in mind that the author has their own idea of how much meat, potato, grains, and other ingredients belong in the soup, which may not match yours. In practice, this means that if you're making it for the first time, don't cook a whole pot at once. Make a tasting batch for one or two people. Scale all the ingredients down to 1–2 servings and figure the water at anywhere from one cup per serving (for a very thick soup) up to 1.5–2 cups (for a thinner one). Remember that some liquid will boil off as it cooks. After tasting a small portion, you can adjust both the amount of liquid and the proportions to suit you. From then on, like most experienced cooks, you'll be able to add water and ingredients by eye.
Since everyone's sense of saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, heat, acidity, and pungency is different, always add spices and seasonings to your own taste! If you're using a seasoning for the first time, keep in mind that some are especially easy to overdo (chili pepper, for example).