Garlic & bread soup

Caroline Marson: Food writer

This is a good way of using up a special loaf, such as rye, spelt or sourdough, that's got a bit stale. Keep stale dry bread in a metal tin, taking care to ensure that it is moisture free. This can be done by putting it on a plate and leaving it overnight on a radiator.

Ingredients: serves 4

1.5 litres chicken stock
200 g bread (stale and cut into cubes)
½ tsp salt
8 cloves of garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
A handful parsley (chopped)
black pepper
25 g parmesan (grated)
extra virgin olive oil

Method:

In a large 3-litre saucepan, heat up the chicken stock and add the stale bread, salt and garlic.
Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the parsley and black pepper.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top with a generous sprinkling of cheese and a swirl of virgin olive oil.

Recipe tips:

It is not advisable to store bread in the refrigerator (except in extremely hot weather) as this will speed up the staling process.