Garlic Soup

Everyone yells for this soup every time I host a Social. It's been adapted from a recipe Kenn and I found on Epicurious 6 or 7 years ago - the photo on the left is two large heads of garlic, roasted.

2 heads of garlic, separated but not peeled
4 tbs olive oil

1/4 stick butter
1 large Vidalia onion, choarsely chopped
4 tbs chopped fresh thyme
1 head of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 bottle crisp white wine (I like Pentamere's Celebration White)
1 pint whipping cream

finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350F. Place unpeeled garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Cover and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add roasted garlic and raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes.




Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender or food processor until smooth. Return soup to pan, add cream and wine and bring to simmer. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes.



To serve, grate Parmesan cheese (or Piave Vecchio) into the bottom of the bowl. Ladle soup over, then squeeze a lemon wedge over the top. Awesome with crusty bread, a nice white wine and a salad, or a terrific starter course.