Aigo boulido, garlic and sage broth
A clear broth where garlic and sage have infused in salted water, bound with a drizzle of olive oil, and poured boiling hot over bread slices. Frugal, fragrant, almost medicinal: a care as much as a meal.
A clear broth where garlic and sage have infused in salted water, bound with a drizzle of olive oil, and poured boiling hot over bread slices. Frugal, fragrant, almost medicinal: a care as much as a meal.
In Provence, they say that *aigo boulido* saves lives, and I have come to believe it as hard as iron. When the mistral has chilled you to the bone or a too-cheerful lunch still weighs on you in the evening, nothing beats this blond garlic and sage broth, so simple you'd laugh. I boil my crushed cloves in salted water, drown a few leaves in it, and pour the whole boiling over bread drizzled with an olive oil that smells of the orchard. You sip it slowly, under the trellis, and you feel reborn. Garlic, you see, I love madly: it has never betrayed anyone.
- •Garlic — one whole head (heart of the remedy)
- •Fresh sage — a few leaves (digestive herb)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (flavorful binder)
- •Stale bread — slices (base)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Aigo boulido, garlic and sage broth
A clear broth where garlic and sage have infused in salted water, bound with a drizzle of olive oil, and poured boiling hot over bread slices. Frugal, fragrant, almost medicinal: a care as much as a meal.
Why this dish? Settled at La Treille Muscate in Saint-Tropez, Colette fell in love with Provence, its sun, and its garlic which she loved without restraint. *Aigo boulido* — garlic and sage broth — is the quintessential Provençal remedy-comfort, taken in the evening to recover from excesses or a chill.
In Provence, they say that *aigo boulido* saves lives, and I have come to believe it as hard as iron. When the mistral has chilled you to the bone or a too-cheerful lunch still weighs on you in the evening, nothing beats this blond garlic and sage broth, so simple you'd laugh. I boil my crushed cloves in salted water, drown a few leaves in it, and pour the whole boiling over bread drizzled with an olive oil that smells of the orchard. You sip it slowly, under the trellis, and you feel reborn. Garlic, you see, I love madly: it has never betrayed anyone.
Ingredients (period version)
- Garlic — one whole head (heart of the remedy)
- Fresh sage — a few leaves (digestive herb)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (flavorful binder)
- Stale bread — slices (base)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Garlic — 1 head (8-10 cloves) crushed (heart of the remedy)
- Fresh sage — 6 leaves (digestive herb)
- Bay leaf — 1 leaf (flavor)
- Extra virgin olive oil — 3 tbsp (flavorful binder)
- Stale country bread — 4 slices (base)
- Water — 1 liter (broth)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
- Egg (optional) — 1-2 yolks (to enrich the broth)
Method
- Bring salted water to a boil with the crushed garlic cloves, sage, and bay leaf; simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the bread slices in bowls and drizzle with olive oil.
- Remove the bay leaf; you can crush some garlic cloves into the broth for more punch or strain it to keep it clear.
- Pour the boiling broth over the bread and serve immediately.
- For a more nourishing version, off the heat, stir in an egg yolk diluted in a little broth, without letting it boil again.
How it was made : *Aigo boulido* ('boiled water' in Provençal) is a poor man's and convalescent's soup, centuries old in the South of France. It was consumed in the morning or after table excesses for its digestive and warming virtues — hence the saying *'l'aigo boulido sauvo la vido'*. Its very frugality made it a respected folk remedy.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a steaming bowl with a poached egg on the bread and a drizzle of new olive oil: the poor man's soup becomes a chic bistro dish.
Sources : J.-B. Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale (1897)
Colette · Charactorium