Migas: Breadcrumbs Fit for a Spanish King

I often marvel at the make more with less mantra that existed before the days of fast food and frozen meals. Migas, meaning "breadcrumbs" in Spanish, is the epitome of this thinking. Peasants from southern Spain had the grand idea to combine some very stale bread, cured sausage, garlic, olive oil, and a fried egg and call it dinner. It's certainly a gut bomb but a delicious one at that. Migas peasant food at its best; I can rest assured that as bad as the economy may get, I'll always have migas to eat.

Migas
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf of day-old European-style bread, torn into small cubes
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. chorizo, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add garlic to pan and cook until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic with slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
3. Add chorizo to skillet and cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the garlic.
4. Add bread and stir to coat with oil. Sprinkle bread with a handful of water to moisten it a bit. Cook, mashing it with the back of a spoon so that it crumbles into smaller pieces, until golden and crunchy, about ten minutes. Add more oil if pan dries out.
5. Add garlic and chorizo to pan and stir to until heated through, about a minute.
6. Serve on plates topped with a fried or poached egg.