Garlic Cream Soup with Potatoes

This wonderfully creamy garlic soup is full of the deliciously mellow umami flavour of slow-roasted garlic. It's a surprisingly simple recipe that you'll want to make all soup season long.
Top this garlic soup with a big handful of our mini soup croutons.

3 whole heads garlic
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 large white onion
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
½ cup white wine or chicken stock
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
4 cups chicken stock
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Toppings:
mini soup croutons
minced parsley
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Cut the tips off the heads of garlic and place them cut side up in the center of a piece of aluminum foil (see notes). Drizzle the tops with olive oil then close the foil around them to create 3 little packages. Place the garlic in a small baking dish and roast for 45 minutes, or until it is soft. Remove it from the oven and carefully open the pkgs so the garlic can cool.

While the garlic is roasting, begin the soup. Melt the butter in a medium-sized soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and sauté until the onion is translucent – about 3 minutes.

Add the white wine and Italian seasoning and simmer for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and potatoes to the pot. Bring the pot to a simmer, reduce the heat and cover the pot and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Once the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves from the skin and add them to the pot of soup.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it's super creamy. Stir in the cream and parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with a handful of mini soup croutons, some minced parsley, a little grated parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Notes:  If you use a regular blender to blend the soup, let the soup cool for a few minutes first. Then work in batches, only fill the blender half full each time, and hold the lid down when you blend the soup. Hot liquids expand when they're blended and have been known to pop the lid off of blenders. Trust me, I've done it.

Nutritional Information:
Serving: 1 serving = 1½ cups, Calories: 305kcal (15%), Carbohydrates: 27g (9%), Protein: 10g (20%), Fat: 16g (25%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 44mg (15%), Sodium: 776mg (34%), Potassium: 607mg (17%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 443IU (9%), Vitamin C: 11mg (13%), Calcium: 166mg (17%), Iron: 2mg (11%)