I love garlic! Especially when it was harvested from the garden.
It is definitely a soup day. There are four inches of snow on the ground and I think the high today is 24 and it is suppose to be 8 degrees tonight. Brrrr!
So, since I took a major hiatus from the Soup Challenge, I am spending the day experimenting with soup recipes. Ever since I got my hands on The Gourmet Cookbook (the yellow one), I have wanted to make this soup. I still have plenty of garlic left from the harvest; what better way to use it than in a soup? I didn’t change it much except for adding the herbed salt and using two whole eggs and one egg yolk instead of five egg yolks.
Rustic Garlic Soup
inspired from The Gourmet Cookbook
1 large head garlic (about 3 inches in diameter)
5 c. water
2 fresh thyme sprigs (I only had a few baby sprigs of thyme up in the green house, so I snipped a few tender pieces for the soup.)
1 fresh bay leaf (Also got this off the bay tree in the green house.)
1 ½ t. salt (Since I don’t think I used enough thyme, I used Herbed Lavender Salt.)
2 large egg
1 large egg yolk
¾ c. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ wedge of Rustic Country Bread
To save my knives, I use the bottom of a glass to smash garlic.
Separate garlic from bulb, peel and smash.
Combine water, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes.
Discard thyme and bay leaf. Force mixture through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then return to saucepan. Whisk together yolks, cheese and 2 T. oil in same bowl until well combined. Add ½ c. hot garlic broth in a slow stream while whisking, then add yolk mixture to remaining hot garlic broth.
DO NOT BOIL! Whisk constantly.
Continue to whisk.
Cook soup over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 170 degrees on thermometer, about 5 minutes; do not let boil.
Divide bread and break up into four serving bowls. Spoon soup over bread and top with LOTS of fresh ground pepper.
A great lunch on a cold day.
