Roasted Garlic Potato soup is just the type of soup that you’ll never see in a can or carton on Market shelves, it is easy to make and economical – its cost is basically a few items from the pantry, a half-dozen or so heads of garlic and a sack of potatoes. On a more personal note, if cooking is occasionally autobiographical, this recipe is my memoir.
I’d like claim that it is because the soup extracts surprisingly complex flavors from quotidian ingredients. Well, that exegesis is preferable to the explanation that like me, the soup is cheap and easy. Making this soup does more than carefully chosen words to explain how to manage the wintry days of the Pacific Northwest when the damp is ubiquitous and gray sky is oppressive with its relentless monotone – you can hide in bed with a book or you can get up and realize you can make it through with a warm pair of socks and big bowl of soup.
5-8 Heads Garlic
Olive oil
2 Onions finely diced
4 T Olive Oil
3# Potatoes - gold and/or russets - peeled and quartered
1 qt stock or water*
1 qt half and half
*If using water, add 1cup cream
Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375. Leave the head of garlic in tact and lop off the top ¼ of the garlic, arrange heads in roasting pan, drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the exposed heads of garlic, cover pan with foil or a tight lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes, until the garlic squishy soft and golden in color. The baking can be done up to 3 days in advance.
After the garlic goes in the oven, caramelize the onions by heating 2 T of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add finely onions and cook, stirring frequently – the goal is to develop color without scorching the onions. Depending on gas/electric/conductivity of the pan, this should take 30-45 minutes.
While garlic is baking, peel and quarter the potatoes. Add to cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat by 1/3 and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes until potatoes become very soft. Drain water from pan and puree the mashed potatoes with stock or water/cream- it is like making mashed potatoes – use blender, food processor or your favorite masher to smooth the soup out.
The garlic cloves can be extracted from the bulb’s papery skin by squeezing the base of the garlic. Puree cooked garlic cloves, caramelized onions and ½ & ½ together. Add to potatoes and adjust seasonings. Not only salt and pepper but balance out the flavor palate by adding balsamic vinegar.
Serve with warm bread, maybe, if you are really hungry, a grilled cheese.
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