Cooking: October 2006 Archives

I officially celebrated the start of Autumn this weekend. It wasn't by driving upstate to see the foliage (though we did and it was gorgeous), and it wasn't by planting all my spring bulbs (though I did). It was because the autumnal cooking season has been offically started by the ceremonial cooking and eating of Roasted Garlic Soup, the most autumnal thing I know and love to make.

A few words about the recipe. I automatically double it from the start. It's worth it for the leftovers and to share with others so just do it.

I love garlic. The recipe calls for roasting two heads which is crazy. Even when I double the recipe, I still roast eight heads of garlic and use every bit of it. It suits the soup just fine so don't be afraid. Also, you could roast and use almost any kind of harvest vegetable that suits. The all will change the flavor a bit, but I can only imagine in the best ways possible while making it your very own thing.

Get a stick-mixer. Period. Pouring any hot soup into a blender is fucking CRAZY shit.

Enjoy the Autumn:

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 (or sweet 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. 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