Roasted Potato–Garlic Soup
by Brenda Langton, Tastemaker in Residence
Roasting vegetables really brings out their flavors. Once roasted, what seems likes a lot of garlic really has a delicate flavor. You can add cream or soy milk if you like, but the soup is great without it. We like to serve this soup with pumpernickel bread and a sharp cheddar cheese. // serves 6 to 8
Hardneck garlic, much of it native to states of the former ussr, thrives in the Upper Midwest.
Ingredients
6 medium red potatoes
1 large onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 heads garlic
5 cups vegetable stock or water
1 cup half-and-half or soy milk (optional)
1 1⁄2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the potatoes, leaving on about a third of the peel. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces; you should have 6 cups. Roughly chop the onion. Mix the potato and onion in a large bowl with the olive oil, stirring until well coated. Spread the vegetables on a sheet pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until thoroughly done.
You can roast the garlic at the same time as the potatoes and onion. Put the whole heads of garlic directly on the oven shelf or on the sheet pan if there is room. Roast them for about 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. Let the garlic cool a bit, then hold the bottom of the bulb and squeeze the cooked garlic into a bowl.
Working in small batches, combine the potatoes, onions, garlic, stock, and half-and-half in a blender. Blend until the soup is slightly chunky, but not creamy (be careful not to over puree). If the soup is thicker than you would like, add a little more stock or half-and-half to thin it.
Pour the soup into a large saucepan. Add salt and pepper to taste and heat until the soup is warmed through, being careful not to let the soup boil.