Garlic Soup (reprise), and Garden Garlic and New Potato Soup
The subject of garlic soup came up last night, and I decided that the quick-n-dirty retelling I had made of Deborah Madison's recipe humpty-odd years ago was insufficient, so I pulled out the book to type up the whole thing, and then noticed the next recipe, Garden Garlic and New Potato Soup. I decided that warranted a new entry here!
Garlic Soup
Garlic soup-essentially a broth of water, herbs, and garlic flavored with olive oil-appears all over the world. Sometimes it's made with chicken broth, sometimes with water. Eggs are often included, either as a liaison, added at the end for thickening, or stirred into the broth, forming "rags." Or a poached egg might be slipped into the bowl and covered with soup. Sometimes the garlic cloves are visible; other times they are strained. Whatever the particularities of culture or household, garlic soup is rustic and simple and considered to be restorative and healing, which in my experience it is. I've known it to prevent an otherwise deserved hangover, and it's helped me to shorten a flu and turn the course of a cold.
Not only is garlic soup one of the most straightforward, uncomplicated soups there is; it is also one of the only clear and strongly flavored meatless broths I know of. As such it is very useful to have in one's repertoire.
Light and invigorating, garlic soup is appropriate for a first course to a large meal, and it lends itself to adornments and additions, such as croutons, a spoonful of cooked rice, tiny stellar pastini, or small pieces of boiled potatoes. It can be poured over grilled bread, covered with grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese, and garnished with parsley and pepper. It can also serve as a broth for floating a few plump ravioli filled with ricotta cheese seasoned with herbs, saffron, or nutmeg.
The saffron gives the soup a subtle flavor and a rich-looking, golden hue, as convincing in color as chicken broth.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts, serving 4
1 large head of garlic or two small heads, broken apart
2 quarts water
8 parsley branches
1 bay leaf
10 large fresh sage leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
6 fresh thyme branches or 1/4 teaspoon dried
2 cloves
salt
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
pinch of saffron
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
finely chopped chervil or parsley
Break the garlic head or heads apart and rub off most of the paper. Rap the cloves firmly with the flat side of a knife to break the paper; then remove it. Put all the ingredients except the cheese and chervil or parsley in a soup pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and boil slowly for 30 minutes, partially covered. Strain, correct the seasoning, and serve with the cheese and chervil or parsley.
Suggestions:
If you're using pastini, the tiny star-shaped pasta, cook 1/2 cup or so right in the soup after it has been strained.
Large pasta shapes, potatoes, or anything else starchy should be cooked separately and then added to the soup so that the starch doesn't absorb all the liquid. Conversely, leftover soup can be used as the cooking liquid for rice, potatoes, or pasta; they will be particularly delicious.
The Savory Way, Deborah Madison, pp. 94-95
Garden Garlic and New Potato Soup
The cooking for this summer soup is really done in the garden and merely finished in the kitchen. Fresh heads of garlic are pulled after the heads have matured but before the leaves have had a chance to dry. New garlic occasionally can be found in supermarkets, particularly in May and June. The cloves of the newly formed heads are moist, milky white, and unblemished, and the flavor is delicate and sweet, a pure essence of garlic. New potatoes, with their papery skins and creamy flesh, have a pure, earthy taste. Although this soup is really extraordinary when made with new garlic and potatoes, more mature produce will make a robust and delicious soup. All you need to do is a little slicing and chopping and then boil the garlic and potatoes in water with sweet butter and parsley. Serve the soup garnished with fesh basil leaves or other garden herbs such as dill or lovage. The same ingredients, cooked with just a cup of water, make a heavenly potato purée.
Makes 4 servings
2 heads of newly pulled garlic
1 pound new potatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
2 thyme branches
salt
1 1/2 quarts water
chopped basil, dill or lovage for garnish
freshly ground pepper
Remove the damp, papery husk that surrounds the garlic cloves. Separate the cloves and slice them thinly. Wash the potatoes, cut them into quarters, and then slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Combine all the ingredients except the basil and the pepper in a soup pot. Bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked, about 45 minutes. Break up a few of them with the back of a spoon, if desired, to give the soup a thicker background consistency. Serve with the fresh herbs and plenty of pepper.
The Savory Way, Deborah Madison, p. 96
Crossposted from http://montuos.dreamwidth.org/1742472.html ;
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Garlic Soup
Garlic soup-essentially a broth of water, herbs, and garlic flavored with olive oil-appears all over the world. Sometimes it's made with chicken broth, sometimes with water. Eggs are often included, either as a liaison, added at the end for thickening, or stirred into the broth, forming "rags." Or a poached egg might be slipped into the bowl and covered with soup. Sometimes the garlic cloves are visible; other times they are strained. Whatever the particularities of culture or household, garlic soup is rustic and simple and considered to be restorative and healing, which in my experience it is. I've known it to prevent an otherwise deserved hangover, and it's helped me to shorten a flu and turn the course of a cold.
Not only is garlic soup one of the most straightforward, uncomplicated soups there is; it is also one of the only clear and strongly flavored meatless broths I know of. As such it is very useful to have in one's repertoire.
Light and invigorating, garlic soup is appropriate for a first course to a large meal, and it lends itself to adornments and additions, such as croutons, a spoonful of cooked rice, tiny stellar pastini, or small pieces of boiled potatoes. It can be poured over grilled bread, covered with grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese, and garnished with parsley and pepper. It can also serve as a broth for floating a few plump ravioli filled with ricotta cheese seasoned with herbs, saffron, or nutmeg.
The saffron gives the soup a subtle flavor and a rich-looking, golden hue, as convincing in color as chicken broth.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts, serving 4
1 large head of garlic or two small heads, broken apart
2 quarts water
8 parsley branches
1 bay leaf
10 large fresh sage leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
6 fresh thyme branches or 1/4 teaspoon dried
2 cloves
salt
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
pinch of saffron
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
finely chopped chervil or parsley
Break the garlic head or heads apart and rub off most of the paper. Rap the cloves firmly with the flat side of a knife to break the paper; then remove it. Put all the ingredients except the cheese and chervil or parsley in a soup pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and boil slowly for 30 minutes, partially covered. Strain, correct the seasoning, and serve with the cheese and chervil or parsley.
Suggestions:
If you're using pastini, the tiny star-shaped pasta, cook 1/2 cup or so right in the soup after it has been strained.
Large pasta shapes, potatoes, or anything else starchy should be cooked separately and then added to the soup so that the starch doesn't absorb all the liquid. Conversely, leftover soup can be used as the cooking liquid for rice, potatoes, or pasta; they will be particularly delicious.
The Savory Way, Deborah Madison, pp. 94-95
Garden Garlic and New Potato Soup
The cooking for this summer soup is really done in the garden and merely finished in the kitchen. Fresh heads of garlic are pulled after the heads have matured but before the leaves have had a chance to dry. New garlic occasionally can be found in supermarkets, particularly in May and June. The cloves of the newly formed heads are moist, milky white, and unblemished, and the flavor is delicate and sweet, a pure essence of garlic. New potatoes, with their papery skins and creamy flesh, have a pure, earthy taste. Although this soup is really extraordinary when made with new garlic and potatoes, more mature produce will make a robust and delicious soup. All you need to do is a little slicing and chopping and then boil the garlic and potatoes in water with sweet butter and parsley. Serve the soup garnished with fesh basil leaves or other garden herbs such as dill or lovage. The same ingredients, cooked with just a cup of water, make a heavenly potato purée.
Makes 4 servings
2 heads of newly pulled garlic
1 pound new potatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
2 thyme branches
salt
1 1/2 quarts water
chopped basil, dill or lovage for garnish
freshly ground pepper
Remove the damp, papery husk that surrounds the garlic cloves. Separate the cloves and slice them thinly. Wash the potatoes, cut them into quarters, and then slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Combine all the ingredients except the basil and the pepper in a soup pot. Bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked, about 45 minutes. Break up a few of them with the back of a spoon, if desired, to give the soup a thicker background consistency. Serve with the fresh herbs and plenty of pepper.
The Savory Way, Deborah Madison, p. 96
Crossposted from http://montuos.dreamwidth.org/1742472.html ;
comments on original post. If you do not have a Dreamwidth ID and you want to read comments on protected posts there, you can log in with OpenID using your LJ ID.