Mark Bittman's Garlic Soup with Shrimp (& Potato) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Yes, I just made a Spanish-style soup last week with potatoes and cumin and smoked paprika, but I do love those flavors and this one, by Mark Bittman, has shrimp and whole garlic cloves. It was also supposed to have bread and no potatoes, but as I am staying away from gluten right now, I thought slices of baby Yukon Gold potatoes would be a nice compromise. Bittman has the smoked paprika and garlic as add-ins while I think they are necessities. ;-) The original recipe is below, with my changes added in red.

Mark Bittman says, "To make the soup even more flavorful, brown a little spice in the oil after removing the bread and before adding the stock. I like a combination of cumin and paprika (about a teaspoon of each), which gives the soup a decidedly Spanish feeling. But curry powder, mild chili powder, a pinch of cayenne or a few rosemary leaves are all possibilities."

Garlic Soup with Shrimp
Slightly Adapted from Mark Bittman via TheNewYorkTimes.com
(Serves 4) 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 to 16 medium to large cloves garlic, peeled
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
(I added 1 tsp smoked paprika and I tsp smoked cumin)
4 thick slices French or Italian bread (I subbed 1 lb of baby Yukon Gold potato, sliced)
6 cups shrimp stock, chicken stock, water or a combination (I used shrimp and garlic stock)
1 to 1 1/2lbs  shrimp, peeled (deveining is optional)
minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

Combine olive oil and garlic in a deep skillet or broad saucepan and turn heat to medium. Sprinkle cloves lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until they are tender and lightly browned all over, about 10 minutes; lower heat if they seem to be browning too quickly. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon. Turn heat to low and add bread (in batches, if necessary); cook on each side until nicely browned, about 4 minutes total. (I added the smoked paprika and cumin here.)

Remove bread, add stock (and potatoes) and raise heat to medium high. (Cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender.) Add shrimp and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until shrimp are pink, about 4 minutes. 

Place a piece of bread and some garlic cloves in each of 4 bowls; then ladle in a portion of soup (with potatoes) and shrimp. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes/Results: This soup, warm and garlicky, made me happy with the smokiness of the paprika and cumin and the sweetness of the garlic cloves and shrimp. Although the toasted bread would be fabulous in the soup bowl, I was not disappointed at all by the tender slices of potato. A simple but delicious and satisfying soup, I would happily make it again. 

Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week is Potluck--our chance to make any recipe from any of out IHCC featured chef.

Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here.

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared Mango Peach Summer Salsa Salad and said, "My good friend Vicki made a fabulous mango peach salad and brought it to a Friday night dinner at my home. She usually brings guacamole, but she wanted to change things up a bit. ... Vicki used fresh sweet mango and seasonal summer peaches with some Vadalia onion , tomato, fresh lime juice and cilantro. It sounded like a strange combination to me, but the flavors all blended beautifully and the salsa made a wonderful appetizer accompanied by some organic corn chips . I thought it was excellent the way it was but you could add some chopped jalapeño peppers or some diced avocado."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made Vegetarian Chili and said, "This Desperate Housewives Cookbook was inspired by the TV show of the same name. It's a television show we didn't watch. We tried two episodes and it just wasn't our cuppa tea. So how I ended up with a cookbook devoted to a show we didn't watch is a mystery. ... Here is a snap of the recipe for the vegetarian chili. The book is well laid out and I have many recipes tabbed to try. See the little green strip on the upper right corner? I am marking recipes I want to make. After I get through with those this book will find it's way to the donation box at the library. Stayed tuned for the purging of the books! ... First recipe from this cookbook was good. I will make it again, it was a nice lunch for us for two days. Served over rice because that's how we like to eat chili."

  
Mahalo to Judee and Tina for joining in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 Have a happy, healthy week!