Garlic soup: stale bread and sliced garlic fried in olive oil with pimentón, simmered in broth, with an egg poached in each bowl.
What makes it sopa castellana
Stale bread and plenty of garlic.
Pimentón stirred in off the heat.
An egg poached in the soup, or beaten in at the end.
Where it comes from
It's the soup of shepherds and of the poor, made from what a Castilian kitchen always had: yesterday's bread, garlic, oil and pimentón. It has long been winter food, Lent food, and a cure for a late night.
Richer versions add jamón and use a good stock; the plainest use water. It's often served in earthenware bowls, the egg set in the oven.