10.01.09
Fall Tradition: Roasted Garlic Soup
Fall for me starts off with the first chilly weekend that calls for making a big pot of Roasted Garlic Soup. I’ve posted the recipe on the blog several times but thought I’d do so again because it’s so good that it just has to be shared.
Roasted Garlic Soup (recipe via ‘Country Living’ Jan. 2002)
8 servings
2 lg. garlic heads, plus 1 clove minced
3 tbls. Olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 tbls unsalted butter
2 cups minced onion
1 cup minced carrots
1 lg. potato peeled (1 ¼ cups) and cubed
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ cup heavy cream
1. Roast the garlic: Preheat oven to 350oF. Using a serrated knife, cut the top off each garlic head so that the tip of each clove is exposed. Place the garlic heads on a large piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with 2 tbls. Olive oil. Add the bay leaves and fold the foil to form a packet. Place the packet in the oven and bake at 375oF for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool until able to handle. In a small bowl, squeeze the garlic head until all of the roasted flesh is released. Discard outer husks and bay leaves.
2. Make the soup: In a large heavy duty saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil and butter, add onions and cook over medium heat until translucent – about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 5 minutes more. Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the potato, chicken stock, white wine, roasted garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for 35 minutes.
3. Finishing the soup: Using a blender or stick blender, puree the soup in small batches until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan if using a blender over medium heat and whisk in the heavy cream. Heat until warmed. Do not boil. Keep warm until ready to serve
Suggestions: I like a lot of garlic so I always double the amount I use for the single recipe. Same for the onions. I’ve used a sweet potato in place of a regular potato before with great results though others have said it makes the soup too sweet with the carrots. I’ve also used a red wine instead of white when that was all I had on hand. Get a stick-blender! You need to pour this scalding soup into a blender like you need genitals on your face.
Garlic cook time: 45 mins. (Soup prep time: 15 mins)
Soup cook time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1:40 minutes