Tourin
A country soup from the Périgord and Aquitaine in which a whole head of garlic, softened slowly in duck fat, turns into a gentle, sweetish broth. It is thickened in two ways: the whites are poured into the simmering soup, where they set into fine strands, and the yolks with vinegar go in at the end as a creamy liaison. It is served over toasted country bread. By old custom tourin was brought to newlyweds on their wedding night. Most important: the garlic should soften, not brown — scorched, it makes the soup bitter.
Your own work in that: 3 min.
- Peeling the garlic 8 min
- Garlic 7 min
- Simmering 20 min
- Whites and yolks 5 min
- Serving 3 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSlice the garlic
Peel the garlic and cut it into thin slices. Slices soften faster and melt into the soup, giving it a gentle flavour.
Ingredients: 12 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp duck or goose fat · 1 tbsp plain flour · 1200 ml water or light stock · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Soften the garlic in fat
Heat the duck fat in a pot over low heat and cook the garlic 5–6 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. It must not brown — scorched garlic makes the whole soup bitter.
Ingredients: 12 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp duck or goose fat · 1 tbsp plain flour · 1200 ml water or light stock · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Translucent, not golden — browned garlic turns bitter.Dust with flour
Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir for a minute, so the flour cooks without taking colour.
Ingredients: 12 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp duck or goose fat · 1 tbsp plain flour · 1200 ml water or light stock · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Add liquid and simmer
Pour in the water or stock gradually, stirring so no lumps form. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and simmer gently 20 minutes. The garlic softens completely and loses its sharpness.
Ingredients: 12 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp duck or goose fat · 1 tbsp plain flour · 1200 ml water or light stock · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Separate the eggs, toast the bread
Separate the whites from the yolks. Toast the bread slices in a toaster or dry pan and lay one in the bottom of each bowl.
Ingredients: 2 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp wine vinegar · 4 pcs country bread, day-old
Drizzle the whites into the soup
Remove the thyme. Beat the whites lightly and drizzle them through a fork in a thin stream into the gently simmering soup, stirring. They set into fine white strands.
Ingredients: 2 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp wine vinegar · 4 pcs country bread, day-old
A thin stream — the whites set into strands.Temper the yolks with vinegar
Take the pot off the heat. Mix the yolks with the vinegar and pour 2 ladles of hot soup into them, stirring constantly. Tip the liaison into the pot and stir. Do not boil the soup again — the yolks would curdle.
Ingredients: 2 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp wine vinegar · 4 pcs country bread, day-old
Hot soup into the yolks — then no more boiling.Pour over the toast and serve
Ladle the hot soup over the toast in the bowls, season with fresh pepper and serve at once. To “faire chabrol” as in the Périgord, add a splash of red wine to the last of the soup in your bowl and drink it straight from the bowl.
Ingredients: 2 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp wine vinegar · 4 pcs country bread, day-old
Before you start
Duck fat
Duck or goose fat gives tourin its characteristic deep flavour. You will find it in jars in good shops. Instead, use butter with a spoon of oil — the soup will be milder.
With tomato or onion
In parts of Southwest France tourin is also made with onions or tomatoes. The whites-and-yolks method stays the same.
The eggs
The yolks in the liaison are not fully set. For children, pregnant women and older people add the liaison while the soup is still over low heat and warm it, stirring, 2 minutes without boiling.
