This year I decided to try my hand in growing garlic. I broke all the rules and planted it in the spring instead of winter. It grew well, but finally the plant died off and they needed to be harvested because of the summer heat. As a result I grew the cutest little garlic bulbs ever. They smelled so strong and were sweeter than any garlic I've ever seen in stores. I decided with something that had so much love put into growing it, I wasn't just going to throw it in some pasta sauce...this garlic was going to "be" something. Last summer I had the most delicious cream of garlic soup at an Italian restaurant while visiting family in Texas. I knew that recreating this dish was what this garlic were was for, and boy, was I right!
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic roasted (I roasted all my baby garlic because they were so small)
4-6 cloves of garlic chopped
4 shallots diced
1/2 cup of white wine
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 TBS of fresh thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1 TBS of grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Roast head of garlic (wrapped in foil with a drizzle of oil) in an 350 oven for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat about 1 TBS of oil in a large soup ot and cook the diced shallot until soft. Add chopped garlic and cook for about an minute until fragrant.
Add white wine and reduce until 1/2 the liquid is gone.
Add chicken broth, thyme, mustard, and roasted garlic. Simmer about 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, add cream (you do not want your soup to be boiling when you add your cream). Thicken with a corn starch slurry if needed.
Stir in Parmesan Cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
*I topped my soup with thinly shaved pieces of garlic that I fried in a little oil until lightly browned and some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.
Enjoy!
