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Vegetarian, South and mountains

Garlic tourin with toasted bread

Tourin is a garlic soup from the Périgord region, thickened with egg yolk and served over toasted bread. This recipe serves 4, takes 35 minutes, is rated very easy, and costs €1.40 per serving. The key is cooking the garlic gently without browning it so it stays mild, then whisking in the egg yolk off the heat so the soup doesn't curdle.

A proper tourin from the Périgord, this gentle garlic soup thickened with egg yolk and poured over toasted bread, perfect when the air turns cool.

Garlic tourin with toasted bread
Total time
35 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Cost per person
€1.40
Calories per person
580 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Winter, Fall

Tourin tends to surprise anyone who hasn't tried it before. Twelve cloves of garlic, cooked slowly, lose all their bite and turn into a round, almost sweet soup thickened with potato. The egg yolk, whisked in off the heat, gives it a silky texture that coats the toasted bread sitting at the bottom of the bowl, and that contrast between hot broth and softening crust is where the charm of this dish lives.

This is a cold season soup, the kind you make on a gray weeknight when you don't want to complicate dinner. It also works for casual entertaining, served as a generous starter before something lighter. Mon Chou likes to bring it back into the rotation in fall and winter, when comfort matters more than lightness.

The ingredients

4 people

Fruits and vegetables

  • Garlic 12 cloves
  • Onion 1
  • Potatoes 200 g

Pantry

  • Wateroften in the pantry 1.2 l
  • Duck fat or oiloften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Vinegaroften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Dairy

  • Eggs 2

Bakery

  • Country bread 8 slices

Allergens Gluten, Eggs

The step by step recipe

  1. Peel the garlic and onion, slice them thinly, and cook them gently in the fat without letting them color. 8 min

    Without browning, the garlic stays sweet instead of turning bitter.

  2. Add the diced potatoes, water, salt, and pepper, and let it simmer gently. 25 min

    Mash a few potato pieces to thicken the soup naturally.

  3. Toast the bread slices and place them at the bottom of the bowls.

    Rub them with a raw garlic clove if you like an extra kick.

  4. Separate the egg whites from the yolks, then whisk the yolks with the vinegar and a bit of hot broth.

    Pour the broth in very gradually so the yolks don't scramble.

  5. Off the heat, whisk the yolk mixture back into the soup, then pour over the toasted bread.

    Don't let it boil again once the yolk is added, or the soup will curdle.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick firm garlic cloves with no green sprout, the sprout turns bitter and more pungent during long cooking.
  • Use slightly stale country bread, it soaks up the broth without turning to mush.
  • Always keep a little hot broth aside before whisking in the yolks, it lets you fix the texture if the soup has reduced too much.

The variations

  • Swap the duck fat for olive oil for a lighter flavor, the tourin stays just as creamy.
  • This recipe is already vegetarian if you use oil instead of duck fat, since it contains no meat or fish.
  • To save time, skip rubbing the toast with raw garlic and serve it plain, the soup still carries plenty of garlic flavor from the cooking.

What to serve it with

  • A well dressed green salad
  • A little fresh goat cheese
  • A glass of dry white wine

Storage

Tourin keeps for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container, best prepared without the egg yolk if you're making it ahead. Add the yolk when you reheat it gently, without letting it boil, so the soup doesn't curdle. Freezing isn't recommended, since the egg and potato change texture.

Questions about this dish

Why doesn't the garlic taste too strong in tourin?

Garlic cooked slowly without browning loses its sharpness and turns sweet. It's the gentle cooking that makes the difference, not a smaller amount of garlic.

Can you make tourin ahead of time?

Yes, make the base soup up through the potato step and keep it in the fridge. Whisk in the beaten egg yolk just before serving to keep a smooth texture.

Can you replace the egg yolks with something else?

The yolks give tourin its signature silky texture, which is hard to recreate another way. If you don't eat eggs, you can serve the soup without thickening it, still good but thinner.

Is tourin a good soup for kids?

The strong garlic flavor doesn't always appeal to younger kids, even after long cooking mellows it. Try a version with fewer cloves if you want to serve it to the whole family.

How long does it take to make a garlic tourin with toasted bread?

Count 35 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “very easy”.

How many calories are in a garlic tourin with toasted bread?

About 580 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a garlic tourin with toasted bread cost?

About €1.40 per serving, or €5.60 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, eggs. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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