My dear friend, Q, gets sick all the time. Like, all the time. Poor girl, every year of high school she would be out of commission for a month or so battling one thing or another. One year it was mono, the next it was a particularly nasty bout of strep throat. One year she was taken down due to a parasite that had been dormant in her system for years, a friendly visitor from her time living in Venezuela. True story.
In a quirky twist of fate, her fiancé also happens to be one of those frequently sick people, so between the two of them they pass bugs back and forth, and back and forth. Every time I Skype with her I feel like one of them is down for the count.
I am (annoyingly, I’m sure), the complete opposite. I never get sick. Everyone around me can be fighting a cold or the flu and I will just keep on keeping on, fine and dandy.
Of course, this means that when I do get sick, I am the worst. While darling Q is brave, beautiful and unflappable in her semi-persistent state of malady, I become the world’s biggest baby. Moaning. Melodrama.
This weekend I had a cold and I became a chimera of awful.
“Colin, help. Colin, I’m DYING.”
“You’re not.”
“I AM. My body hurrrrrts.”
“You just have a cold. Pull it together.”
And then I continue to moan and Colin ceases to dignify my incessant whining with an answer (rightly so, I realize).
One of the oh-so-fun things about being a grown up is that when you get sick, you still have to do stuff. You still have, you know, responsibilities. Walking the dog, sorting the recycling for pick-up, and a massive project due at work with an already precariously tight deadline. Delight.
It doesn’t matter how sick I felt or how much of a wuss I was being, come Monday I knew I needed to be well. Well enough, at least. No rest (sick days) for the wicked.
My mum used to make a variation of this soup for me growing up when I would come down with a bug. Not only did it kill whatever bug I was battling, but it would ensure the rest of the family didn’t come down with it either. Garlic is wonderful, isn’t it?
Not to get too graphic for you, but this soup is great for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is that it contains no dairy. Dairy is mucous producing… you get the idea. Don’t feed the snot nose.
Both garlic and oregano fight your bug and bolster your immune system- especially paired with a drizzle of good ol’ vitamin C from that lime juice. The eggs provide some protein, much needed fuel for our ailing bodies, but if you’re vegan it’s totally okay to omit- if you’re after some protein you can always add tofu, which I’m sure would be delicious.
Those of us going gluten-free can skip the bread, or use gluten free bread. It’s mostly just used to bulk up what is otherwise a very light and healthy soup.
I know, I know, I’m making this out to be the Chicken Noodle Soup miracle for vegans/gluten-free people. It is. It’s magic soup. But don’t feel like you have to just make this when you’re fighting something! I love this soup just about any time. Quick, easy, healthy and cheap. Love, love, love.
| Mexican Garlic Soup with Oregano & Fresh Lime | Print |
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 15 cloves garlic, crushed
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock- ideally homemade
- 1½ tsp salt (omit if using store bought, pre-salted stock)
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten*
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 2 limes, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges
- ½ baguette**
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over low heat. Add garlic and cook until garlic is soft but not coloured and oil is well flavoured. Remove from heat.
- Slice baguette into cubes or ¼ inch thick slices. In a bowl, toss bread with half of the garlic infused olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until lightly toasted and crisp.
- Pour stock into the soup pot with the remaining oil and garlic. Simmer on medium heat. Add 1 tsp salt and chopped oregano. Gradually add eggs, stirring constantly. Simmer and stir until the eggs set, roughly 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice of 1 lime.
- Serve soup topped with garlic toasted bread and a side of lime wedges.
** Omit or use a gluten-free bread for gluten-free
Ooooh, this soup looks good! If 15 cloves of garlic wont’ smoke out a cold I don’t know what will! I’m more like you than your poor perpetually sick friend, but when I do get sick I definitely prefer the natural remedies when I can get ’em. Thanks for a great recipe, I’ve pinned and will be making soon!
Thanks, Katie! Natural remedies are great when possible. I considered adding some hot chilies to the soup, as I know capsaicin is also bug fighting, but instead opted for mild this time around. Worth trying if you’re into spicy food, though! That would definitely help clear some sinuses 😉
I love your site! That roasted butternut/coconut/miso soup you posted recently looks heavenly. Another great use for the abundance of butternut I have ripening in the garden right now…
Hi Finn, great dish! How about adding it to the Food on Friday: Oregano & Tarragon collection over at Carole’s Chatter? Cheers
Thanks for the suggestion, Carole. We’ve added a link!
About to try this one out. Just came from the store to get the ingredients..feeling under the weather..not a fan of medicine and absolutely LOVE garlic. Sounds like a win win
Hope this warms you up and cures whatever bug you’re battling, Breanna! 🙂
chicken soup has been found to contain similar ingredients to cold and flu medications. Add garlic, and anti-bacterial, and you have a force to be reckoned with. Nearly every society has a recipe for chicken soup used when someone is ill. There’s a reason.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Peta!
This looks great! Do you think it would work with beef broth (which I have on hand)?
Thanks!
Kate
Hi Kate! I’m sure beef broth will work- it’s a slightly bolder and richer flavour, but the garlic should be able to stand up to it just fine.
Thank you! I’ll let you know how it turns out!