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Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese

Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese

This soup is great for cold and damp days as it is very rich and warming. It freezes well and even tastes better the next day. Don’t be afraid of the amount of garlic in the recipe as the flavor mellows during the cooking process. The lemon and parmesan added at the end of the cooking makes a world of difference to the taste of this dish so don’t omit! We have found rough grated parmesan on top better than finely grated and adding croutons on top is great. You might want to deglaze the onions with a touch of vermouth. To make a hardier soup add fresh baby spinach, diced chicken or fine egg noodles to the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.

44 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 lemon wedges

Directions:
1.    Preheat oven to 350° F
2.    Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish
3.    Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat
4.    Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes
5.    Set aside to cool
6.    Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves
7.    Transfer cloves to small bowl
8.    Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat
9.    Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, for 6 minutes
10. Add roasted garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes
11. Add chicken stock
12. Cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes
13. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth
14. Return soup to saucepan
15. Add cream and bring to simmer
16. Season with salt and pepper
17. Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over
18. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve