Tag: garlic

Roasted Garlic Soup by Julie Kohl {Foodie Friday}

By Julie Kohl

I have been sick for the entire fall of 2014. I still have the sniffles and the “man voice” that makes all my students giggle. I am however determined to spend fewer days in 2015 under the weather.

Cold and flu season, and winter in general, is the perfect time to make and eat a lot of soup. I typically make a big batch of soup every Sunday and freeze individual portions that I can take to work all week long. Lunch prep is easy and it’s healthy eating.

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Today I’m making a delicious roasted garlic soup. Roasting the garlic sweetens it and takes away its sharp bite. This soup is sure to ward of any evil bugs but don’t forget to bring the breath mints!

Roasting garlic is easy and can be done easily and fairly quickly in the oven. I use an electric garlic roaster.

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This is probably one of my most favorite and most used kitchen appliances.  If you don’t have an electric garlic roaster just slice off the top of a whole bulb of garlic.  Sprinkle with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Wrap the bulb in foil and pop it into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  You will want to check the garlic at this point. Each clove should be golden and mushy.  If not – allow it to cook just a bit longer.  You can roast several bulbs together.

Let’s make soup!

Roasted Garlic Soup
Serves 4
A delicious roasted garlic soup to keep you warm and help ward off winter colds.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 onion, sliced very thin
  2. 2 tbs. olive oil
  3. 2-3 stems of fresh thyme
  4. 4 cups chicken stock
  5. 3-4 bulbs of garlic, roasted
  6. 1/4 cup white wine
  7. 1/2 cup heavy cream
  8. Salt and pepper
  9. Garlic Parmesan croutons, optional
Instructions
  1. Roast 3-4 heads of garlic as indicated above. Allow the garlic to cool and then squeeze to extract the cloves.
  2. Discard the skins and set the garlic aside.
  3. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions.
  4. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften.
  5. Add the thyme, roasted garlic and chicken stock.
  6. Simmer and cook for about 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.
  7. Carefully remove the thyme stems.
  8. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until no large chunks of garlic remain
  9. Salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving add the cream and heat until warmed through.
  10. Top the soup with garlic Parmesan croutons before serving.
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Julie Kohl © Jacob Slaton PhotographyArkansas Women Blogger’s Calendar Cultivator and member Julie Kohl writes about her adventures with food, recipes, crafts and creativity on her blog Eggs and Herbs. As former Yankee who was “converted” to the south by her husband, Julie has grasped on to rural life in a sleepy, blink-your-eyes-and-you’ll-miss-it town in east central Arkansas. She raises chickens, horses, and English mastiffs and spends her summers off from teaching art growing an herb garden and crafting all kinds of delicious recipes

Amy Bradley Hole: Tuscan Garlic Sauce {Foodie Friday}

By Amy Bradley-Hole of Freaky Perfect

I have been blessed to spend a lot of time in Italy’s Tuscany region.  I’m also lucky in that many of my friends over there are either professional chefs or amazing home cooks.  From them, I learned much about Tuscan cuisine, the importance of using local ingredients, how the most simple dishes are often the best, and Italian regional cooking in general.

One of these simple-yet flavorful recipes that is a staple in my home is Tuscan garlic sauce.  It uses only five ingredients, yet when those ingredients are high quality, the taste is magical.  The recipe calls for canned tomatoes, but I use San Marzano tomatoes imported from Italy.  It calls for lots of olive oil, but I use the finest Tuscan olive oil, not an Italian/Greek/Tunisian/Egyptian blend, like what you find in most “Italian” olive oil sold in the grocery stores.  Use the best ingredients you can find when making this sauce.

And like the best Italian dishes, this sauce is quite easy to make.  Don’t overthink it.  Just combine the ingredients, let it simmer, and it will turn our great!  Make large batches and you can easily can or freeze it for later use.

Speaking of use – you can do so much with this versatile sauce.  Serve it simply with pasta.  Spoon it over crostini for a take on bruschetta.  Use it as a base for your favorite pizza.  Even use it as a starter for a flavorful vegetable soup.  My kids love it when I simmer meatballs in in.  Use it as you would any other tomato-based sauce.  There are many possibilities.

To make Tuscan Garlic Sauce, you will need:

  • one head of garlic (yes, the whole thing)
  • 6 ounces of olive oil
  • 1/2 Tablespoon crushed red chili pepper flakes
  • 3 ounces tomato paste
  • 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 Tablespoon salt

Peel the garlic, then chop or mince it.  I actually put mine in the food processor.  It’s much easier than chopping it all, and I prefer the smoother blend.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Once it’s heated, turn the temperature down to low and add the garlic and pepper flakes.  Stir well and simmer until the garlic begins to turn brown.

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Add the tomato paste.  Again, stir it in well and simmer until the paste breaks up.

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Add the can of crushed tomatoes.  Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients.  Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the salt and stir.  Let it continue to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s at least heated through.  The longer it simmers, the better it tastes, in my  opinion.  The finished product will look like this:

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Again, I encourage you to experiment with uses for this sauce.  If you’re like me, you’ll probably soon become addicted it it, and you’ll want to find a way to serve it a few times a week.

 amy bradley-hole

 

Amy Bradley-Hole is a freelance writer and speaker who covers tech, travel, business and parenting.  She’s a true Southern girl, but she’s lived and traveled all over the world.  She blogs at Freaky Perfect about the freakiness of her not-so-perfect life.  When she’s not goofing around on the internet, she dreams up new ways to drive her husband and two young boys crazy.  Follow her on Twitter at @amybhole.