Roasted Garlic Soup

Roasted Garlic Soup

serves 8

(America)

If you think  you dislike the taste of garlic or think you know what 2 large heads of garlic would taste like cooked into a soup . . . boy are you in for a surprise!  While  raw garlic is spicy and, to the palate of some, harsh; garlic, when roasted as described, becomes very mellow and even sweet.  It adds a surprisingly pleasant,  nutty sub tone to this rich and creamy soup.  Once you try it you'll love it as much as I do.

Ingredients

2 large heads of garlic, whole, unpeeled

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups yellow onion, minced

1 cup carrots, minced

1 ¼ cups potato, peeled and cubed

4 cups chicken stock

½ cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

¼ cup heavy cream

Preparation

1.  Preheat oven to 350° F.

2.  Prepare the heads of garlic for roasting by cutting the top off each garlic head so that the tip of each clove is exposed. Place the garlic heads on a large piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Fold the foil to form a packet. Place the packet in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Cool slightly.

3.  Remove the garlic heads from the foil packets and squeeze the cloves into a small bowl. Discard outer husks.

4.  Heat the remaining olive oil and the butter in a large heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.

5.  Add the carrots and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the potato cubes, chicken stock, white wine, roasted garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for 35 minutes.

6.  Allow the soup to cool slightly and add the cooled soup to the container of a blender and purée the soup (in small batches if necessary) until smooth.

7.  Return the pureed soup to the saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the heavy cream. Heat until warmed, Do not boil.

8.   Serve immediately.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Spaghetti with garlic and Oil)

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

(Spaghetti with garlic and Oil)

(Italy)

serves 4

The sauce, Aglio E Olio, for this dish becomes the “mother sauce” (the basis) for the Puttanesca sauce, it is also the first sauce my mother taught me.  It is deceptively simple; garlic and extra-virgin olive oil with just enough red pepper to wake up your taste buds.  If you try the options you'll find that the Alice (Ah-leach,  Italian for anchovy) completely dissolves during cooking leaving behind a nutty, salty (not fishy) taste and the inclusion of a beaten egg imbues the dish with a richness (many people leave the raw egg out for fear of salmonella but I've eaten Aglio E Olio this way all my life without any negative consequences) .  

Ingredients

1 pound Spaghetti, cooked al dente

1/2-cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 flat anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)

6-10 cloves garlic

1/2-teaspoon red pepper flake, or to taste (optional)

1/4 cup  flat leaved Italian parsley, chopped

3 large sweet Italian Basil leaves, chiffonade

1 egg, well beaten

Grated cheese (Parmesan or Romano)

Preparation

1.  About an hour before starting the Aglio e Olio sauce place the olive oil in a small  bowl, micro-plane 2 or 3 of the garlic cloves, and place the red pepper  flakes into it.  Set the bowl  aside on your counter and allow the oil to infuse with the flavour of the garlic and the heat of the red pepper flakes.

2.   After the oil has had time to infuse and in a small saucepan heat the infused oil, the micro-planed garlic,  the red pepper flakes,  and butter together over very low heat.

3.  Finely chop the remaining garlic.

4.  Add the infused oil and butter mixture to a large sauté pan (large enough to hold the volume of cooked spaghetti) over medium heat, add the chopped garlic and sauté it until it is soft and translucent (DO NOT allow the garlic to brown!)

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5.  Meanwhile, bring a large volume of salted water to a rapid boil over high heat.

6.  Lower the heat under the sauté pan to medium-low, add the Alice (anchovies) and cook until the fish is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

7.  When the water comes to a rapid boil, toss in the spaghetti and cook until the spaghetti is cooked al dente.  

8.  Drain the spaghetti and toss the cooked pasta with the sauce in the sauté pan.   Sprinkle the Aglio e Olio with the parsley and toss to distribute the chopped parsley into the cooked pasta.

9.  Optional  step:  If you're going to add the beaten egg;  while it's still hot pour the spaghetti and sauce into a large spaghetti bowl (large enough to hold all  the past and sauce) and while pouring the beaten egg over the pasta with one hand toss the pasta, using  a pair of tongs in the other, to distribute the egg throughout it; the hot pasta and sauce should cook the egg.

10.  Serve immediately topped by grated cheese and the chiffonade basil accompanied by crusty Italian or French bread and extra grated cheese and red pepper  flakes.