Roasted Garlic Soup

This soup uses a horrifying number of garlic cloves...40 something, I think. However, as most of them have been roasted, the end result is much milder and smoother than you might expect. The squeeze of lemon and parmesan cheese at the end really brings this soup to a whole new level! Even for non-garlic lovers, this is an outstanding. The only change I made was to substitute half and half for the whipping cream.

Beware: you may get a bit of indigestion from consuming this much garlic, so keep your portions small!

This soup is originally from Bon Apetit, February 1999, but as with a lot of my recipes, I found it on epicurious.com. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/100669

Ingredients

26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

2 1/4 cups sliced onions

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

18 garlic cloves, peeled

3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)

4 lemon wedges

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)
Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Roasted Tomato Soup

This soup is excellent, though quite rich....sweet, savory and complex...I really love how the cognac adds a whole new dimensionof flavor! I would cut back a bit on the brown sugar next time. I used slightly less heavy cream (I just couldn't bring myself to use 1/2 a cup), and about 1 1/2 Tbsp cognac instead of 2 Tbsp. I also used 1 small onion as I didn't have shallots. To puree, I used an immersion blender instead of a regular blender.

Cooks Illustrated Cream of Tomato Soup

from "The New Best Recipe"

2x 28oz. cans of whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained. 3 cups of juice reserved.
1.5 TBL packed dark brown sugar
4 TBL unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 large shallots, minced
1 Tbl tomato paste
pinch of allspice
2 Tbl AP flour
1 3/4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbl brandy or sherry
salt and cayenne peeper to taste

1.) Adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Seed the tomatoes and arrange them on a single layer on the foil, and sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar. Bake until all liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes begin to color (about 30 minutes). Let the tomatoes cool slightly, then peel them off the foil; transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

2.) Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add the shallots, tomato paste and allspice. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened (7-10 minutes). Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined (about 30 seconds). Whisking constantly, gradually add the chick broth; stir in the reserved tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes. Cover, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors (about 10 minutes).

3.) Strain the mixture in a medium bowl; rinse out the saucepan. Transfer the tomatoes and solids in the strainer to a blender; Add 1 cup of the strained liquid and puree until smooth. Combine the pureed mixture and the remaining strained liquid in the saucepan. Add the cream and warm over low heat until hot, (about 3 minutes) off the heat, stir in the brandy and season with cayenne to taste.

Serve immediately.

The soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 days. Warm over low heat until hot. Do not boil.

Mastering The Art of French Cooking

As a gift, I received Julia's Child's, "Mastering The Art of French Cooking", vol 1 and 2. I am so excited about this, so to celebrate I decided to cook the first recipe in her book....thank goodness it was only Potage Parmentier (Leek and Potato Soup)!
I was a little skeptical of this recipe as you basically just dump the 1 lb of potatoes and 1 lb of leeks into 2 quarts cold water with 1 tbsp salt, simmer for 45 minutes until soft, puree with an immersion blender or put through a food mill and add a few Tbsp of heavy cream to finish. I was expecting it to be bland but it was really delicious and comforting.

A Delicious Way to Eat Your Greens

As a holistic health counselor, it is my job to help people live healthier, happier lives! Most people don't eat enough green vegetables and they really are superfoods. So....I am going to be adding really delicious recipes to help encourage people to eat more vegetables. Of course, life is about balance so there will be some chocolate dessert recipes to help even things out!

This chickpea stew is from the July/August 2007 edition of the Nutrition Action Health Letter.

Spicy Chickpea and Greens Stew

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 large carrot, small dice

1 large onion, small dice

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (adjust if you don't like it too spicy!)

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb spinach (washed in a lettuce spinner and rough chopped)

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Small bunch basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat (I used my large Le Creuset dutch oven and it was perfect). Add 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and saute the carrots until soft, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Stir in the red pepper flakes, tomatoes, and garlic. Simmer until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated.

3. Stir in the spinach. Simmer over medium heat until tender, about 5-10 minutes if using regular spinach (2-5 minutes if using baby spinach).

4. Add the chickpeas. Roughly chop the basil and stir into the stew, along with the remaining oil.

5. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4...or 3 hungry people :)