Roasted Garlic Soup
When roasted in the oven, garlic becomes tender and exceptionally sweet, making a wonderful base for a soup.
Ingredients
- 8 garlic heads, top one-third cut off
- 4 Tbs. olive oil
- 8 baguette slices
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
Roast the garlic
Preheat an oven to 325°F.
Arrange the garlic heads, cut side up, in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil. Roast until the cloves are very tender when pierced with a fork, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When the heads are cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft garlic pulp into a bowl.
Fry the bread
In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. When it is hot, add the bread slices, reduce the heat to medium and fry the bread, turning once, until golden, about 4 minutes total. Remove from the heat.
Finish the soup
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the broth and garlic pulp, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Using a food processor or blender, process the soup to a smooth puree. Return the soup to the pan and reheat to serving temperature. Season with salt and pepper. Place 2 fried bread slices in each bowl, ladle the soup over them and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Soup, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).