Colombian Changua: Warm Milk and Egg Breakfast Soup with Scallions and Toasted Bread

Combine the milk, water, the white parts of the scallions, the crushed garlic and the salt in a medium saucepan. If using the diced potato, add it now. Set over medium heat and bring just to a gentle simmer, stirring now and then so the milk does not catch on the bottom.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 cups water
• 4 scallions, white and green parts finely sliced, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 thick slices day-old crusty bread or calado, toasted
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced small (optional, traditional in some households)

Instructions

1. Combine the milk, water, the white parts of the scallions, the crushed garlic and the salt in a medium saucepan. If using the diced potato, add it now. Set over medium heat and bring just to a gentle simmer, stirring now and then so the milk does not catch on the bottom.
2. Simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until the garlic has perfumed the broth and the potato, if used, is tender. Fish out and discard the garlic cloves. Keep the broth at a bare, trembling simmer; it must never boil hard or the milk will scorch and separate.
3. Crack each egg into a small cup. One at a time, slide the eggs gently into the simmering milk, spacing them apart. Cover the pan and poach for 3-4 minutes for soft, runny yolks, or 5-6 minutes if you prefer them set.
4. While the eggs poach, butter the toasted bread generously and cut each slice into quarters or rough chunks. In Bogota, stale bread is prized here because it softens into the broth without turning to mush.
5. Divide the bread between four deep bowls. Using a slotted spoon, lift one egg into each bowl, then ladle the hot milk broth over the top so the bread begins to soak.
6. Scatter the green scallion tops and the chopped cilantro over each bowl. Add a good grind of black pepper and taste the broth, adding a pinch more salt if needed.
7. Serve immediately, while the bread is still half-crisp and the yolks are warm. Break the egg into the broth with your spoon so the yolk enriches every mouthful.
8. Changua is the breakfast of the cold Andean highlands around Bogota and Boyaca, where mornings at 2,600 meters are chilly year-round. It descends from the milk-and-egg broths of the Muisca people blended with Spanish dairy, and remains a working-class classic served in market stalls before dawn. Simple, thrifty and deeply warming, it is the kind of bowl that makes a crisp autumn morning anywhere feel like a mountain sunrise.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 340 kcal
• Protein: 17g
• Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrates: 28g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 13g
• Sodium: 720mg