It's Weekend Herb Blogging, the brain child of the lovely Kalyn. Every weekend bloggers are corralled over at her site, Kalyn's Kitchen. So, head over there to see all the herbal possibilities. My herb of choice for this weekend was an easy decision to make. The fresh thyme in the produce section was the best I've seen in months. And I wanted to make something simple, but full of flavor. So here it is, Fresh Thyme and Garlic Soup, easy to make and great fun to eat. The recipe calls for four large heads of garlic, which can astound people. Part of the fun in serving this soup is telling people how much garlic they're eating and watching their surprised reaction. They can taste its presence, but it doesn't shout GARLIC.
As any garlic lover knows, baked or braised whole cloves of garlic
have a mellow flavor. In this recipe four heads of garlic are
tossed into a pot, along with stock and herbs, and simmered until the
cloves are soft. This may not be the easiest soup to make, but it
comes close. It took me approximately five minutes to assemble
the ingredients and toss them into a pot. There was no chopping or
sauteing. When the garlic was soft, it was a quick and easy job to puree it into a rich tasting, but low calorie soup.
I think the garnish on a soup is crucial. It makes a good soup into
something special. I brushed olive oil on slices of french bread and
baked them until they were large, crisp croutons, which
were then placed on top of the soup. The soup could also be enriched
with cream, but it really didn't need it.
Fresh Thyme and Garlic Soup (James Peterson)
4 heads of garlic
12 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 quart chicken stock
juice of one lemon or lime
salt
pepper
Jalapeno (optional)
slices of stale or toasted french bread
Break up the heads of garlic into cloves. Throw the papery membrane that comes off in you hands when you separate them away, but don't bother peeling them. Add a whole jalapeno pepper if you wish.
Put the thyme into a 4 quart pot, along with the garlic and the stock. Cover and bring the soup to a slow simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes until the garlic is very soft.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor and press through a strainer. Add lime or lemon juice and season with salt or pepper.
Place the toasted bread on top of each serving. You can also add butter or olive oil or chopped parsley on top.
I think this sounds just wonderful. I confess I buy the large jars of garlic cloves at Costco (already peeled) which would be perfect for this!
Posted by: kalyn | March 18, 2006 at 05:10 AM
Kalyn,
I've seen those and it would make it even easier to fix the soup!
Posted by: sher | March 18, 2006 at 07:34 AM
This looks like a easy soup...my husband loves chicken clear soup...I think I might makes this sometime. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Sonali | March 18, 2006 at 04:41 PM
You're killing me! Any recipe with that much garlic has me at hola.
Posted by: Karina | March 19, 2006 at 03:46 PM
Wow - fabulous looking soup - definitely a keeper!
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Ruth | March 20, 2006 at 04:20 AM
Sonali,
There are other versions of this where they don't press the soft garlic through a sieve, maybe you've tried them. Those have a very clear broth. But, I like the "creamy" look of this.
Karina,
LOL!! I know. I'm a huge sucker for garlic. Can't understand the people who say they hate it!
Ruth,
This is a good rcipe, so easy and delicious. There are so many variations on it too. In Italy they make the clear broth version and slip whole eggs into it to cook. Interesting.
Posted by: sher | March 20, 2006 at 10:13 AM
Oh wow. This soup sounds like garlic heaven!
Posted by: Ed | March 20, 2006 at 09:07 PM
I think it is worth taking the time to peel the garlic. You can use one of those rubbery things--the peel comes off easily.
Posted by: eqj (the chocolate lady) | March 21, 2006 at 12:08 PM
Chocolate lady,
It really isn't necessary for this version, but a person could do it if they wanted. You puree it with the skins--and then put it through a seive and it's perfect! I've seen a version where you peel them and scoop the garlic out after it's cooked. That leaves a clear broth.
Posted by: sher | March 21, 2006 at 12:49 PM
Ed,
It was very nice. i was impressed that it didn't have a raw garlic taste--but then, why should it? Cooked this way, the garlic doesn't overwhelm the soup.
Posted by: sher | March 21, 2006 at 12:52 PM
MMMmmmm. thyme! and GARLIC! Sometimes the simple things are the best.
Posted by: Laurie | March 21, 2006 at 03:33 PM