As many of you know, I happen to have a small obsession with roasted garlic. And soups. But strangely enough, it wasn’t until this year that I finally decided to try the infamous “44-Clove Garlic Soup” that has made its way around the blogosphere.
Now I have absolutely no idea why I waited. This soup is amazing!
I actually made it for the first time a few weeks ago during Snowmageddon (the crazy blizzard of ’11). It seems like the perfect recipe for a cozy winter day, and I loved the thought of my entire house smelling like that delicious roasted garlic. So I bought an extra few heads of garlic and some fresh thyme the day before the storm hit (an ominous day, thanks to weather forecasting!), pulled up the long-ago bookmarked recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and began cooking as the first flakes began to fall.
Not surprisingly, the soup ended up being a complete delight! I had read other bloggers urgings not to fear the big “44”, but I admit I was still expecting a pretty strong garlic flavor. Not so! I thought this soup was perfectly balanced. The roasted (and cooked) garlic was a subtle but wonderful compliment to the creamy broth, and I loved the simple combination of thyme, Parmesan and a dash of lemon. I also added in some shredded rotisserie chicken at the last minute, which I will definitely do again. I may also experiment with shallots or leeks the next time around instead of onions.
So with that, I cast one more vote into the blogosphere for this delightful soup. I will certainly be making it again soon. :)
44-clove garlic (and chicken) soup
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Total Time: 80 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A delicious creamy garlic soup recipe filled with the most amazing subtle flavor.
Ingredients
- 26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. (1/4 stick) butter
- 2 cups sliced onions
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 18 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (optional)
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
- salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 4 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil 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 translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add shredded chicken and cream, and bring to simmer. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
- Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.
Notes
Instead of dividing out the 26 cloves for the first step, I just roasted 3 whole heads of garlic via this method. Once the heads were roasted, I just squeezed out the garlic and continued with the remainder of the recipe.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit and Smitten Kitchen
Ali’s Tip:
Instead of dividing out the 26 cloves for the first step, I just roasted 3 whole heads of garlic via this method. Once the heads were roasted, I just squeezed out the garlic and continued with the remainder of the recipe.
This was amazing. The only things I changed were that I boiled a whole chicken for home made stock. Removed the chicken and broth. Sautéed the garlic and onions as written. Blended with a stick blender. Then I added mushrooms, boiled until soft then added the shredded chicken back. I also only added 1/4 cup cream to a double batch. It was perfect my husband was amazed.
I made this during the superbowl. I added potatos and chicken. It smells and tastes incredible.
I didn’t realize this was such an old post!! I’m still commenting because I just made it and I love it. I will disagree and say that it IS very garlicky, but I love that. It may have been because I had mutant cloves that were the size of two and I may have tossed in a few more cloves, though :)
I added chicken, but I didn’t have any already cooked, so I used a can of chicken. It worked out great. I also didn’t have heavy cream, but I did have half and half. It may not have been as thick, but I think it worked fine.
I also used my immersion blender instead of a conventional blender. I can’t wait to make it again!!
I just made this soup- got the dreaded flu and after being disappointed with my google searching for chicken soup, i searched it on Gimme Some Oven…… It is A-MAZING!! My second batch i added some creamed corn and just as good. Thanks!!
I made this soup last night, and would really like to use it for a broth for pasta and mussels. How would you recommend I do this? Should i make the broth and then add the pasta and mussels to cook or should i add the pasta as the broth is simmering for 20 mins. I would really appreciate your feedback.