Sunday often tastes like the dregs in the bottom of the coffee cup. The day has a bitter grittiness to it: The weekend is over and the family is tired of the activities, the chores, and each other. But occasionally a perfect day comes along filled with mellow autumn sunshine, stolen naps, and garlicky soup for the many runny noses in my home.
44-Clove Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese
Adapted from Bon Appetit, February 1999 and Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4
26 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
lemon wedges
Roast 26 cloves (I used a whole head) of garlic in a small ceramic or glass dish. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover with foil or lid and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves.
Melt butter in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme, and cook for 6 to 10 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves. Cook 3 more minutes. Add chicken stock, cover and simmer until garlic is tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender and transfer back to the soup pot. Add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide grated cheese among your bowls and ladle soup over it. Squeeze lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.
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