Sunday night was chilly here in Birmingham. Decided to warm things up with something simple–that, and the cabinets didn’t really hold loads of food as I have been avoiding the grocery store. Settled on a variation of garlic soup.
Roasted Garlic Soup
1 head garlic
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
several sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup white wine, optional
3 VERY small potatoes, diced (no bigger around than a 1/2 dollar–hopefully smaller)
1 can vegetable or chicken broth
freshly ground pepper
1 cup milk (I used 2%, but half and half would give it an extremely rich flavor)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Rub the head of garlic until the outer layers of skin come off (leave the part that is directly on the individual cloves). Place in a small container, drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until very tender. Remove and let cool.
Heat a skillet (I like my stainless chef’s pan for this) over medium heat until hot. Add remaining olive oil and onions. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook another 2 minutes. *You may need to turn the heat to low for part of the cooking time. The idea is to caramelize the onions and brown them only slightly.
Squeeze roasted garlic cloves gently. The clove should pop out of of the skin with ease.
Add white wine, if using. Add potatoes, roasted garlic and broth. Season with pepper. Cook over low heat for about 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are very tender.
Transfer to a bowl and blend in batches until smooth. Return to pan, add milk and heat thoroughly. Spoon into bowls and top with cheese. Makes two servings. Use a little more milk and another couple of potatoes and this would easily stretch to feed three.
