Swiss Chard - Potato Soup

This is derived from something I saw on a cooking show - Lidia Bastianich was demonstrating ways to use old bread. The secret is making sure the garlic and peppers are very hot before ladling the soup into the pan with them; this draws the flavor of the spices into the soup. This is a fast way of creating a large pot of flavorful soup.

12 cups soup stock (or water)
10 cloves garlic, sliced
8 cups old (hard) bread, cut into 1" cubes
1 bunch (about 8 leaves) of Swiss chard
4 potatoes
2-5 small dried red chilis
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese, optional, for garnish

Chop the potatoes, boil in a soup pot in the stock (or water) for about 10 minutes.

Cut the stems off of the Swiss chard, and cut them into small pieces and boil them with the potatoes, another 10 minutes.

Cut or tear the chard leaves into 2" to 3" pieces, add to the potatoes, add salt and continue to cook.

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet or saute pan until very hot (be careful not to burn the oil). Add the garlic to the hot oil, stir for about 2 minutes, so that the garlic starts to lightly brown. Add the dried red chilis (adjust the number of chilis to your taste) and let cook on high for a few more minutes. The garlic and chilis should be very hot.

Just before the garlic gets too brown, quickly add 3 large ladles full of the stock mixture to the pan. Do it quickly to reduce splattering. This mixture should boil rapidly for a couple of minutes. Stir constantly, to bring out the flavor of the spices, then pour the garlic/chili mixture back into the large pot.

Add the bread cubes to the soup, bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and some parmesan cheese.