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Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I read rec.food.cooking and rec.food.recipes fairly religiously. Somebody posted a recipe for a Provencal garlic soup. Over the years, because I cannot leave a recipe alone once I decide I like it, I have tweaked the garlic soup recipe a tad. The original and my changes appear behind the cuts.

WARNING: if you might not appreciate smelling of garlic for the next week (or have co-workers or housemates or whatever who might not appreciate you smelling of garlic for the next week), don't bother with this soup. OTOH, it has been fairly effective against the common cold.



I thought I send you my favourite garlic soup:

GARLIC SOUP PROVENCAL
=====================

Ingredients:
------------
500 ml vegetable broth [about 2 1/8 cups -- kherron]
30 cloves garlic (really !)
1 bay leaf
thyme, oregano, basil
1 clove
black pepper, freshly ground
1 egg yolk (I take the whole egg)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:
-------------
Peal garlic cloves. Simmer garlic in the broth together with bay leaf, thyme,
oregano, basil, clove and pepper (about 20 mins.) until garlic cloves are
tender. In the meantime mix egg and lemon juice, add slowly olive oil (as if
making mayonnaise).
Press garlic broth through a strainer (or food processor, after removing
bay leaf and clove).
Return into the pot. Take one tablespoon of the soup and mix it with the
egg-olive-oil mixture. Add it to the soup.
Put fresh parsley on it and serve with croutons.

Time: takes about 30 minutes.

Source: from "Schnelle vegetarische Kueche" by Elisabeth Fischer, Mosaik Verlag
1991, ISBN 3-576-01627-9
The translation is mine and so all mistakes are too.




1 head of garlic per person
1 head of garlic for the pot
~ 1 cup of stock (chicken, vegetable, what-have-you) per head of garlic
few sprigs of thyme
4 cloves
a scattering of peppercorns
a few bay leaves
a sprig or so of rosemary
1 egg, 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp olive oil per 2 heads of garlic (if you have an odd number of garlic heads, round down)
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the garlic cloves. Simmer garlic and seasonings in the stock until garlic is tender, and yes, this is about 20 minutes, although more won't hurt it either. Strain out the hard chunky bits (peppercorns, bay leaves, cloves, herb sprigs) and puree the garlic with a bit of the stock added until smooth and add it back to the pot. I used to use a blender, now I have an immersion blender, and it's all done in the pot. While the garlic is simmering, make a light aioli with the egg, oil, and lemon juice. The best way to do this, I've found, is to put the egg and the lemon juice in the blender and very slowly add the olive oil. Temper this with a ladleful of the warm soup, then add it all to the pot and slowly bring up to serving temperature. Correct the seasonings, and serve with a good crusty bread and a green salad. Don't bother with anything subtle in the salad unless you're serving it before the soup, because once you start eating the soup you can't taste much of anything else.

IIRC, you can also substitute a half-cup or so of vermouth for the same amount of stock, which is also tasty. You can simmer and puree the garlic, et. al., beforehand, and store it in the fridge overnight, but save the aioli step for right before serving once the soup is heated.

If you are going to share a bed with someone the next few nights after you eat this soup, make sure they either have no sense of smell or have also eaten this soup.

Substituting vermouth for stock

Date: 2004-07-27 09:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] verymelm.livejournal.com
If you do this, I'd recommend you do it at the end - after the simmer - or it can taste funny. I have a cream of wild rice soup recipe that you add dry white wine to, but if you do it before the simmer, it gets a vinegary taste.

And I can attest to the tang of garlic that follows you around. It's strong enough that when you shower, your whole bathroom will reek of garlic. It's great right before you're going to go camping in a mosquito infested area, though!

Date: 2004-07-27 09:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] envoy.livejournal.com
Wow, that sounds soooooooo yummy. I think I shall have to make it for a friend of mine when he comes into town.

Date: 2004-07-27 09:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] polypolyglot.livejournal.com
I've had lovers who have asked me in bed what I might have had for lunch because they smell the garlic. It makes me very self-conscious.

Date: 2004-07-29 07:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pixel39.livejournal.com
That's why you make sure anyone who might be sharing bedspace has to eat some soup, too. If you have roommates, it's also good if they consume some--that was never a problem with Ian. I wish I could remember how exactly he made his garlic bread.

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