Category:
Soup

Roast Garlic Soup

Ingredients:

Preheat your oven to a moderate temperature and roast two heads of the freshest garlic you can find. Large cloves are a plus for this preparation. When the heads are quite soft, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few moments.

When you can handle them, slice away the top of each head with a sharp knife, and scoop out the contents of each clove thus revealed with the wrong end of a spoon. Put them into a saucepan. Add a liter of water, starting with just a few drops, and adding a little at a time, mashing as you go so as to make a more or less smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of Xérés, amontillado if possible, and a teaspoon of molasses. Bring to a boil, stirring. Immediately lower the fire and simmer gently for five minutes. Strain through a fine sieve. You may wish to add some salt at this time, and about a quarter teaspoon will be a good start.

A few minutes before serving, mix a teaspoon of arrowroot flour with a tablespoon of cold water, add to the soup, and bring once again to the boil. Adjust the seasoning. Simmer for a further two minutes.

Just at the moment of serving, garnish each bowl with croûtes of bread browned in sesame oil, and a few mint leaves.

Notes:

One possible refinement to the above technique, (which you will admit is applicable to very low-tech situations,) is to use a blender to prepare the garlic and water mixture.

Recipe Index

More Soups:

Mosaic Soup |  Collards and Lentils |  Bitter Chiffonade |  Bamboo Stew | Barley and Lentil Cottage Pottage | Carrot and Ginger Soup | Souped Up |