Sean’s Favorite, Garlic Soup – Make This Today And Thank Me Tomorrow
I had this soup for the first time in my life at a restaurant at Sandals in the Bahamas and I knew immediately I would have to try making it as soon as I got home. I did, I loved it, and you will to.
To the best of my knowledge, I am the only one I know who makes this around here. I feel that has to change. I have only made it once and I found the recipe on line. There are a whole lot of recipes out there but I based mine on Food.com submitted by Raquel Grinnell.
Here is what you will need.
2 Cups of garlic cloves (I used like 5 or 6 heads)
2 Pounds of onion (I used about 4)
2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Quarts of Chicken Stock (Broth)
A half loaf of day old French Bread (broken or chopped into half inch pieces)
2 Cups of heavy cream ( I used half and half but I think Cream would be better)
A little more than a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 to half of pepper
1 Bouquet Garni - I had no idea what this is but basically you are going to take a little parsley, thyme and a bay leaf and tie them together. They also sell Garni bags which are made of mesh, (who knew) this way the flavors get in the soup without the stems or leaves.
Ok now here is what you do. The prep time is a bit longer than I expected but really so worth it in the end. You cant imagine what a pain it is to peal and chop all the garlic and onions. The garlic is tedious and time consuming to peel and of course the onions are definitely a crying matter. Once you have that all done the rest it pretty easy, although time consuming.
In a large soup pot put your oil and butter along with your chopped garlic and onions , cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Once everything is soft and turning a golden brown raise the heat and cook uncovered for 10 or 15 minutes more STIRRING FREQUENTLY. -(the garlic and onions will be trying to burn on the bottom of the pot by now)- You are looking for a deeper golden brown here.
Add your chicken stock , the garni, the salt and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Take out the garni and its time to puree. (This part is a bit of a pain too but an important part of the process because you want the end product to be a smooth creamy soup.)
Run the soup through a food processor or blender and then strain it back into the pot. Add the cream and pepper and bring it back to a boil, and then ENJOY!