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ROASTED GARLIC SOUP
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I once made this soup in large quantity (don’t ask how much fun it was to squeeze all that roasted garlic out of its skin) and passed it in mugs as a sort of “stand up” first course at a party. Boy, was it ever worth the work! Everyone loved it, and one friend of mine still swears that this soup is the best thing he’s ever tasted. I hope you make it in reasonable amount, so you can enjoy the result without too much work – and I hope you enjoy it as much as my friends did that evening!
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SERVES 6
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3 whole heads (bulbs) of garlic
6 tablespoons, olive oil
5 cups, good chicken stock
1 cup, heavy (or whipping) cream
salt and pepper to taste
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Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Smash (but not too hard) the pointed top of each head of garlic with a mallet or rolling pin to spread open the individual cloves, set the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, and drizzle about 1 tablespoon (or less, as needed) of olive oil over the garlic. Gather up the foil to make a loose but drip-proof package, and place the package in the preheated oven. Repeat with the remaining heads of garlic.
[Alternatively, you could cut off (and discard) the pointed end of the garlic head to expose the individual cloves, then drizzle oil over, package in foil and bake as described. The advantage to this second method is that the roasted garlic can potentially be squeezed out of its casing in one batch; the disadvantages are that many papery pieces must be excised from the pulp, the baking may take longer, and the individual cloves may not cook as evenly.]
Bake at 275 degrees until the garlic is soft – about 1 hour. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin, removing any papery pieces of skin that may cling to the softened garlic – then puree the garlic in a blender or food processor with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
While the garlic is roasting in the oven, simmer together the chicken stock and cream. Simmer and reduce until thickened slightly. (Dip a metal spoon into the broth, then draw a line with your fingertip down the back of the spoon. If the strip you’ve drawn does not run back together, it’s thick enough.)
When the garlic puree is prepared, whisk it into the broth, stirring well to blend. Strain the soup into a warm bowl, pitcher or tureen. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
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