French Hangover Chicken Soup

From the blog CHOW: This cold-weather soup, featured in cookbook author/Francophile Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, is described as Provence’s version of America’s chicken soup. This simple, subtle garlic concoction is used to cure colds, as well as the more common hangover. Dorie likes to start with three eggs yolks, adding as many as three more. We made it several times and settled on the richer version with the full six. Use the leftover whites for chocolate mousse, another great cure-all.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1 pot

Ingredients

• 10  medium garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 large head)
• 6  fresh sage leaves
• 2  bay leaves
• 2  large fresh thyme sprigs
• 6  cups water (or 3 cups water and 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth)
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 6  large  egg yolks
• 1  cup parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 3 ounces)
•  black pepper, freshly ground
• 1  teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, for serving

Directions

1. Halve each garlic clove and remove the germ in the center; discard the germ. Thinly slice the garlic and place in a large saucepan.
2. Tie the sage, bay leaves, and thyme together with butcher’s twine, or bundle them in a piece of cheesecloth tied closed with twine. Place the herb bundle in the saucepan, along with the water (or water and broth) and the measured salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Discard the herb bundle, keeping the broth at a simmer.
3. Place the yolks and cheese in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add a few ladlefuls of soup to the cheese mixture and whisk until smooth. While whisking the soup in the saucepan, gradually add the cheese-soup mixture in a steady stream (the yolks will thicken the soup somewhat). Remove the pot from the heat and whisk for 1 minute more (if you keep it over the heat too long, the yolks may curdle). Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, with a drizzle of olive oil over each portion.