So far this year has not gone as planned. In my queue was a slew of posts (an interview, a giveaway and more recipes) to make up for the break I always take during the holidays. But as luck had it, I got sick. A cold that started in December, with a brief respite for Christmas, returned with a vengeance (and a raging cough) in early January. With the aid of prescription drugs, I’m finally on my way to full recovery barring any unforeseen freak virus that I happen to encounter.
While I was sick I took the opportunity to cook up a batch of soups. While thin watery soups may work for some, I like soups with lots savory bits. Broth alone doesn’t satisfy me and I need something solid in my stomach to call it a meal.
This recipe for garlic soup (originally found in Bon Appetit) was appealing but didn’t have those satisfying chunks I need. So out of necessity to use up what I already had in the kitchen, I added some sliced potatoes. While terrific on its own, I went further and topped the finished soup with bread and cheese and broiled it in the oven until the cheese melted. Think French onion soup but with garlic.
This a great soup while on the edge to full recovery from a cold. Even better yet, make a batch of this if you feel if you’re on the verge of something. Garlic has many health benefits including being a natural antibiotic. This soup has it in spades, using three heads of roasted garlic. The additional squeeze of lemon at the end brightens up the soup and adds a tanginess that I always seem to enjoy especially when I’m feeling under the weather.
Hearty Garlic and Potato Soup
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 4
1 head of garlic, cloves removed and unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 head of garlic, cloves removed and peeled
2 shallots, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 red skinned potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup half-and-half
4 lemon wedges
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional additions
1 small baguette, sliced
Monterey Jack or Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place unpeeled 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 for approximately 45 minutes until garlic is golden brown and tender. Let cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, thyme and reserved cloves of peeled garlic and cook until shallots are translucent. Add roasted garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Puree garlic with immersion blender in saucepan until smooth. (Or while working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth and return to saucepan.) Add half-and-half and potatoes. Simmer for 20 more minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
Optional step: Divide soup into four oven-safe bowls. Top with baguette slices until soup is covered and top with cheese. Set bowls under broiler for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.
Aww.. I hope you feel better soon! At least you won’t be attacked by any vampires while recovering.
And I love your personalized spatula!!
Seriously! Vampire bites would be the last thing I have to worry about with this recipe.
That seems time consuming….hope hubby helped you make it!
I might try that recipe over the weekend…love the spatula!
Once the garlic is roasted, it’s not time consuming at all. Plus if you love garlic as much as I do, the waiting isn’t so bad.
Mmm, looks great! Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks, Dennis!
I like hearty soups, too. But what I really loved was your spatula!
Ooo, garlic soup sounds awesome! I hope it’s helping you make a super speedy recovery! (I dig the spatula, too).
Sorry to hear you got sick! But, garlic soup will fix whatever ails you, I’m sure. 😉
Feel better soon!
re: Spatula. These mini spatulas were a gift a few years ago and perfect for scooping things out of jars or mixing up small batches of things like olive oil and garlic! But if you’re eager to get your hands on a set, they’re available at Williams-Sonoma here in a choice of red or clear plastic.
This recipe sounds delicious! Those types of nasty virus bugs are the pits. I’m glad you’re feeling better now!
Thank you! It was delicious but hope that I only need to have it once this year.
Glad to see a new post, and so yummy! I hope you feel better soon. The cough following a cold is the worse (I think).
I agree. The stuffy head and sneezing I can deal with, the cough is something I always dread.
hi darlene – glad you’re feeling better! wow, this soup uses up 3 heads of garlic? and i thought using 1 head was a lot (for my adobo). i’ll have to try making this one day. my husband would love it. i would just dread the, uh, garlicky gaseous expulsions though!
Ha! Now that explains a lot!
I ended the year off pretty poorly with a bad persistent cough that lasted three weeks. I wasn’t in the mood for eating, much less cooking! I’m glad to hear that you’re on your way to recovery!
Eek! Three weeks?!? I hope you’re fully recovered. I’m slowly creeping out. These San Diego winters are a doozy! 😉
Sorry to hear you’ve been so sick. Bummer — and I know from my experiences with bronchitis. Ugh! Weeks and weeks. Good thing you have your taste buds working. This soup sounds fab (omg the garlic!!!) and I love what you added. I’d call this dessert about now because we’re eating a lot of “feed” and protein. *sigh* Happy New Year to you. Start in February — no one will notice 🙂
Happy (belated) New Year to you too, Kelly!
I made this soup on Monday and we ate it last night, really great stuff. It did seem like it was missing a little something so I added just a touch of additional chicken flavor to it, but it still was a bit flat. Tonight we will try the splash of lemon juice (I forgot about that!).
I’ve noticed based on past soup experiences that anything with pureed potatoes in it suck A LOT of salt and sometimes flavor. The lemon does really help.