Roasted Garlic Soup

I clipped this recipe from a newspaper a few months ago. Garden of Eve, an organic farm on the north fork of Long Island, holds a garlic festival every September. The festival was coming up, and I was keeping my eye out for garlic themed recipes. I'm so glad I found this one! I love everything about garlic; its taste, smell, health benefits. Roasting the garlic, like you do in this soup, really enhances the flavor (and makes the house smell great!).

For weeks now I've been meaning to make a batch to keep in the freezer. This soup is perfect for colds, especially since garlic has antiviral and antibacterial properties. I don't know how effective garlic is once it's been roasted and once you're already sick, but the soup is at least comforting. I made a few substitutions, like oil for butter, to make it vegan. The original recipe called for heavy cream, but it's still rich and creamy (and much more healthy) without it.

When I made this yesterday morning, it took a lot of willpower not to eat a bowl right away. As much as I love garlic, I know not everyone does. I was going to a spin class and as a courtesy to the other spinners, I didn't want to be sweating garlic. What I'm getting at is, after eating this soup, you're probably going to stink. I didn't notice it last night after dinner since we all ate it, but when Logan had a bowl for lunch today he really reeked!

*The key to this recipe is roasting the garlic. To make it easier to extract the actual clove once it's roasted, cut off the top of two whole heads, exposing the cloves. Place the cut heads on a piece of tinfoil with a couple bay leaves. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and wrap it up. Roast in the oven at 350º for 45 minutes.

When the 45 minutes is up, remove the foil packet from the oven and let it cool slightly. Over a bowl, squeeze the heads so that the cloves are released from the husk. 

The roasted garlic cloves in the bowl, and the husks on the foil.

Roasted Garlic Soup

Makes about 6 servings

• 2 heads of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Roast the garlic. See above for directions*
2. In a large pot, saute the onions in 2 Tbsp of oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the roasted garlic, and mix well. 
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer covered until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
6. Transfer batches to a blender using a slotted spoon, and blend until smooth.