Roasted Garlic Soup with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

I know I made garlic soup not that long ago, but this is an even more garlic garlic soup. Seriously. And it tastes amazing. It’s a light-ish soup with a ton of garlic and, if you leave out the optional parmesan and use veggie stock, it’s totally vegan. Roasting veggies is one of my most favorite things ever, so when I saw this recipe, it was like the blog heavens parted and this recipe came down to me.

It’s that good. Make it while it’s still kind of soup weather.

Roasted Garlic  Soup with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes from Joy the Baker:

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings

For the roasted garlic -

26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

2 Tb. olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the potatoes -

12 small new or purple potatoes or a mixture (which is really pretty)

2 Tb. olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Salt and pepper

For the soup -

2 Tb. olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, sliced into half rings

2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

15 to 18 garlic cloves, peeled but kept mostly whole (guess which amount I picked)

4 c. chicken stock (or veggie or turkey, which is what I used)

½ c. milk (or any other creamy option listed in the original)

Salt and pepper to taste

Lemon wedges, Parmesan cheese, and good olive oil for drizzling

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place 26 unpeeled garlic cloves in a small baking dish.  Toss with olive oil, a few pinches of salt and black pepper.  Cover dish with foil and set aside.

Dice potatoes into large bite-sized pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Place the foil-covered garlic cloves and the rosemary potatoes in the oven.  Bake both for 45 minutes.  Remove the potatoes from the oven once or twice to toss around the pan to ensure even baking.  After 40 to 45 minutes, a knife will easily pass through the roasted garlic and roasted potatoes.  Remove both from the oven and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the roasted garlic from their skins and combine with the raw garlic.  Set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the sliced onions and chopped thyme.  Cook until onions are translucent and thyme is super fragrant, about 6 minutes.  Add the two types of garlic and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the stock, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer the soup until raw garlic is soft and tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove soup from heat and blend, in two or three batches, in a blender until smooth.  Return soup to the pot and add milk or other creamy thing and stir until milk has dissolved.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

To serve, stack roasted potatoes in the center of a shallow bowl.  Pour soup around the potatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil, a dash of fresh lemon juice and a generous shaving of Parmesan cheese.

This is an intense soup without being overly intense. The roasted garlic flavor is really mellow and the time the fresh garlic spends simmering takes out a lot of its bite. I think a few more potatoes would have improved this already stellar dish, but it was fine the way it was. I just love potatoes and garlic (have you read my bio?). I highly recommend this soup!