Sopas — Spain

Sopas is a simple, humble soup built around broth and whatever is on hand to bulk it out — most often stale bread, though noodles, rice, or chickpeas appear in other households. It sits at the plain end of home cooking: a first course meant to warm rather than impress, made from what is already in the kitchen. It is reported from across Spain rather than tied to one town or region, since it belongs to the wider family of household broths found in Spanish home kitchens generally. Because it is built from leftovers and pantry basics, it varies from one kitchen to the next more than most named dishes do. To prepare it, a broth — often from chicken, a ham bone, or simple vegetables — is simmered with garlic and a little sweet or smoked paprika until fragrant. Torn pieces of stale bread are added and left to soften and partly break down in the hot liquid, thickening it slightly. In many households, an egg is cracked in near the end and poached gently in the broth until just set, and the soup is served hot in the same pot or ladled into bowls straight away. Cooks differ mainly in what they add for substance and flavor: some fold in leftover chorizo or ham scraps, some use noodles or rice instead of bread, and some skip the egg altogether. The result changes considerably from one household to another, since the dish exists mainly to use up bread and broth rather than to follow one fixed method.