Chilled Black Olive Soup

This is a soup that turns heads and raises eyebrows in the best possible way. Chilled black olive soup? Yes, and it works beautifully.

Ripe black olives get sliced thin or chopped, then stirred into a chicken stock that’s been infused with onion and garlic.

A tempered egg adds silky body, light cream brings richness, and a splash of dry sherry gives it that old-school cocktail-party elegance.

The secret weapon is a teaspoon of steak sauce. It sounds odd, but it adds a subtle savory depth that ties the briny olives and creamy stock together.

Chill it overnight and serve it in cold bowls as a conversation-starting first course that nobody saw coming.

Chef Tips

• Temper the egg carefully. Whisk it in a separate bowl and slowly stream in hot soup while beating constantly. Dumping the egg straight into the pot gives you scrambled egg bits floating in your elegant soup.
• Use good quality brined black olives, not the tasteless canned California kind. You want olives with real flavor since they’re the star here.
• The sherry is not optional. It lifts the whole soup and keeps the olive flavor from feeling too heavy or one-note.