Roast Garlic Soup
This is a humdinger of a soup recipe, that might initially scare the shit out of you because of the sheer quantity of garlic involved. But fear not, the garlic is roasted first, making it sweet and more moreish than someone called Moe eating a moro on the side of a motorway.
I cannot, however, guarantee that the essence of this soup won’t linger slightly about your person a few hours after eating it. But sure that’s what Lynx and Impulse are made for.
Serves 4:
Ingredients - 4 bulbs of Garlic, 4 table spoons of olive oil, fresh thyme, a litre of fresh chicken stock, a baguette chopped into cruton rounds, grated gruyere, a 1/2 cup of flour (to be added as required), salt and pepper.
First you slice the whole garlic bulbs horizontally across the centre and place them flat in a roasting tray which has had the olive oil poured into it so that the flat side of the half-bulbs sit in the oil. Now place the tray in an oven and roast for about an hour at 160/170 degrees.
Once the garlic is roasted the cloves should be golden on the bottom and soft and sweet all the way through. Moreover they should fall right out of their skins. Now, add these cloves to a large soup pot, pour the oil over them, and add flour through them, constantly mashing with a potato masher until the whole lot forms a smooth golden paste.
You can fry this past for another couple of minutes on a medium heat before pouring over the stock. Once the stock has been added, whisk the resulting mixture thoroughly over a low heat until the soup is smooth and starts to simmer gently. Add the thyme leaves and leave it simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring regularly until it has a achieved a consistency that barely clings to the back of a spoon.
Season to taste. Throw an oven toasted crouton on top, grate some cheese over it, and finish off under the grill.
Now tell me this isn’t one of the most satisfyingly deep flavoured soups you ever tasted. And replenishing too - perfect for when you are banjaxed with a chill or cold.
