Make Ahead

Roasted Garlic Soup with Olive Croutons

March  7, 2012
4
2 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

I've had a bad cold all week, and it's destroyed my appetite. This soup changed that. Plus, it didn't require a trip to the grocery store -- something I definitely don't have the energy for right now. Another lazy bonus to this recipe is that the croutons and the garlic both want a 350°F oven, so you can make them at the same time.

For the broth, I used the tomato water leftover from a can of whole tomatoes, but feel free to substitute with any other flavorful liquid. —linzarella

Test Kitchen Notes

linzarella's soup is extremely flavorful and complex despite its relative simplicity. The crème fraîche adds a great creaminess and the poached egg added both heft and more flavor. My husband said this was reminiscent of a gazpacho -- "hotzpacho" as he called it. The croutons were a great additional element but we didn't see any reason that they be made from olive bread (versus any other bread) and without them, the soup would still be good and easily stand on its own. Overall, a yummy dish! I have a wicked cold myself, and this did feel and taste good going down. —em-i-lis

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Roasted Garlic Soup
  • 1 head garlic, cloves separated and unpeeled
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or to taste
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons crème fraîche
  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 eggs, poached or hard boiled
  • liquid left over from a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes
  • Olive croutons
  • Day old olive bread
  • Olive oil, enough to coat the bread
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Roasted Garlic Soup
  2. Put the garlic cloves in a baking dish and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan to yield more roasted garlic pulp. Roast at 350°F for 45 - 60 minutes. When cool, remove and discard the skins, and set aside the cloves.
  3. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and thyme and cook until the onion is fragrant and translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add vinegar (add half here, and more to taste later if you like) and scrape up any bits of onion that may have gotten stuck to the bottom of your pan. Then add the reserved roasted garlic, the tomato liquid, and water. Cook at a bare simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
  4. Let the soup cool enough that it won't explode your blender, then puree it. Return it to the pot and heat it up again. Pour into bowls, and serve with a generous dollop of creme fraiche, olive croutons, egg, and parsley.
  1. Olive croutons
  2. Trim the crusts off the bread and slice it into bite-sized pieces. Put the pieces in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread on a large baking sheet (don't overcrowd!) and bake at 350°F until golden brown, 10-20 minutes.
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13 Reviews

krikri November 4, 2017
I also ended up with a small but tasty amount. Maybe it would be helpful to have a ballpark total quantity of liquids: water in with the roasting garlic + 3/4 cup water called for in the recipe + liquid from the can of tomatoes = ??
Maybe erring on the side of less-is-better gives a very flavourful result.
 
Van A. December 22, 2013
I agree about the yield I doubled it and there was enough for 3 of us. I was also confused about the egg but now that is clear based on comments below. My wife and daughter thought it was absolutely delicious and so did I. I guess thats why we were disappointed in the yield. :)
 
Eleanor A. January 3, 2013
Do you add the egg directly to the soup or eat it on the side?
 
PDXpam January 3, 2013
I placed a poached egg on top of the croutons. Wonderful when the soft yolk runs into the soup.
 
PDXpam January 2, 2013
I made this tonight as a special treat for my cold. Absolutely divine! For the liquid, I used the garlic poaching water supplemented by chicken broth. Worked really well. My only complaint if the yield. I doubled the recipe and got only two bowlfuls. We wanted more! Next time I'll at least quadruple it.
 
james R. January 2, 2013
i'm confused too about the tomatoes. do you actually use the tomatoes or is it just the juice in the can that you use.
 
linzarella January 2, 2013
It's just the juice. When I cooked this soup, I had just used a can of tomatoes for another recipe, and was looking for something to do with the leftover tomato juice. But it's a very flexible recipe, and in subsequent versions I've made it with both tomatoes and their juice, or used broth instead of the tomato juice.
 
fiveandspice January 2, 2013
I've made this with chicken broth instead of tomato juice because I didn't have any tomatoes around, and it was quite delicious using the broth instead.
 
Simonelisa January 2, 2013
I assumed you meant the water from roasting the garlic. You mentioned that adding the water would yield more roasted garlic pulp. I'm confused on that part now. I'm anxious to try this but thought I'd ask before I do!
 
linzarella January 2, 2013
No, I actually meant the water left over from a can of tomatoes. But, as I mentioned in the headnote, any flavorful liquid would work, and I bet the water left over from roasting the garlic would taste great. However, there probably wouldn't be enough of it, so you'd have to add more of some other liquid.
 
Droplet December 8, 2012
What an elegant take on garlic soup. I love the olive croutons.
 
fiveandspice November 26, 2012
Hi! I want to make this tonight for my husband who has a nasty cold. I'm trying to figure something out though. You call for tomato liquid in the instructions but it isn't listed in the ingredients. Are you supposed to use it, and if so, how much, and where does it come from? Thanks!
 
linzarella November 26, 2012
Woops, guess I forgot to list that. I used the liquid left over from a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes. Hope your husband enjoys the soup and it helps him feel better!