Garlic and Gruyére Soup

Roasted garlic:

The secret to the exotic taste of this soup is the roasted garlic. You will need to roast 40 garlic cloves and, trust me, you don’t want to peel each garlic. Cut the small hard top off of the garlic clove head, and then simple crush the garlic below a flattened knife with your hand. The garlic skin will come off quite easily (see photo below). It should not take more than 10 or 15 minutes to prepare the garlic for roasting.

40 garlic cloves ready to prepare

Prepared garlic in olive oil.

Ingredients (6 servings):

• ¼ cup – extra virgin olive oil
• 40 cloves – garlic, peeled (see above on how to peel)
• 6 cups – chicken stock
  
• 1 cup – dry white wine (e.g., Chardonnay)
• 2 – large baking potatoes, Idaho or Russet, cut into ½-inch cubes (leave skin on but scrub in cold water)
• 12 ounces – Gruyére cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon – all purpose flour
• ½ cup – whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons – brandy
• 2 tablespoons – dry sherry
• 1 – medium Vidalia onion, finely diced
• ¼ pound – prosciutto, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add the oil and garlic to a baking dish and mix so the garlic is covered in oil (see photo above). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Once it has cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic into a large Dutch oven (reserve the oil). Add the chicken stock (click to see the recipe), wine, and potatoes to the garlic and simmer on medium low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring periodically. Make sure that the potatoes are tender and soft.

Potatoes and garlic cooking in stock and wine.

Once the cheese has been graded, add the flour and mix. Add the cheese to the soup and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches. Puree long enough to liquefy the solid ingredients such as the potatoes. Place back into the Dutch oven once it is pureed and add the cream, brandy, and sherry.

Pureed soup

Meanwhile, place the reserved oil and onions in a skillet and sauté over medium heat until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add the prosciutto to the onions and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes. Add the onions and prosciutto to the soup and heat over medium heat until the soup is hot enough to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Voila!

Enjoy!

J. Botticelli