Jamies Roasted Sweet Garlic Soup Food

ROASTED SWEET GARLIC, BREAD AND ALMOND SOUP

Steps:

• I'm not quite sure where I got the inspiration for this recipe - I think it was actually when I was making bread one day and I incorporated some really sweet caramelized garlic and almonds into a focaccia. There's a slightly Spanish feel to the main ingredients - think of it as putting a bunch of old friends together and having a good party! My mother's initial reaction was, 'My God, that's a lot of garlic, you'll stink!' but don't let the amount put you off, as when garlic is roasted in its skin the pungent flavour is replaced by a jammy sweetness which is divine.
• Roast the garlic cloves in a preheated oven at 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 for around half an hour until soft to the touch. Meanwhile, take a large pot and slowly fry the white onion in 4 tablespoons of olive oil for about 10 minutes until really soft and translucent. Add the cream and the stock, bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, awaiting your garlic. Remove the garlic from the oven and allow to cool slightly before squeezing out all the sweet, golden paste. Whisk this into the soup. Discard the garlic skins.
• Remove the crusts from your ciabatta, rip up the bread into small pieces and throw into the soup. Add the sherry vinegar, then allow the soup to simmer for 5 more minutes. Whiz it until smooth in your food processor with your toasted almonds. Season nicely to taste and serve in big bowls sprinkled with some orange segments, torn up coriander and mint, and drizzled with a good lug of extra virgin olive oil.
• Try this: You can eat this cold in the summer - it's obviously going to be thick, which I think is a nice thing, but you can thin it with a little milk or stock if you want to.
• And this: You may want to big up the sherry vinegar to give it that twang you get with a Spanish gazpacho soup.
• Or this: There's a similar recipe from Spain where sliced white grapes are added to the soup - this contrasts really well with the garlic, so give it a go. A handful will do. Nice when eaten both hot and cold.

SUPERB SQUASH SOUP WITH THE BEST PARMESAN CROUTONS

Steps:

• Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil.
• Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with paper towels - you'll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you'll be left with a beautifully flavored oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chile and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around 30 minutes.
• While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, and press some grated Parmesan onto each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.
• When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with an immersion blender or pour it into a standard blender and pulse until you have a smooth puree* (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it's perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

ROASTED SWEET GARLIC AND THYME RISOTTO WITH TOASTED ALMONDS AND BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• For the basic risotto: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Roast the whole garlic heads on a dish in the oven until soft, about 30 minutes.
• Stage 1: Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallots or onions, garlic, and celery, and fry slowly for about 4 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
• Stage 2: The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring, it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.
• Stage 3: Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Separate the roasted garlic cloves and squeeze out the sweet insides into the risotto. Add the thyme and black pepper to the risotto. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer, so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladles of stock.
• Stage 4: Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir gently. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. This is the most important part of making the risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto retains its perfect texture. In a frying pan toast the almonds and bread crumbs in a little olive oil until crisp and golden. Season with a little salt. Set to one side. Serve the risotto with the toasted almonds and bread crumbs sprinkled over the top. Lovely.

ROASTED GARLIC GINGER SWEET POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Slice potatoes in half lengthwise.
• Brush cut surfaces with vegetable oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet.
• Scatter garlic cloves in center of pan (you may need two pans).
• Bake until potatoes are very soft, about 25-60 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes.
• Scoop out potato pulp from skins and place in a blender (you may need to do this in several batches depending on the size of your blender and the size of the sweet potato).
• Squeeze garlic cloves from their skin (use to taste, I used about 2), and place in blender with ginger.
• Whirl potatoes, adding broth slowly as needed to produce a puree.
• Transfer puree to a large pot and stir in remaining broth and water until desired thickness (as you heat the soup it will thicken so you may need to add more water as it heats).
• Heat over medium low, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until hot.
• Soup keeps well frozen or in the refrigerator.

ROASTED GARLIC SOUP WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
• Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes.
• Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes.
• Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth.
• Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over.
• Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

JAMIE'S ROASTED SWEET GARLIC SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 C or 400 degrees F.
• Bake the garlic cloves for about 20 minutes or until soft.
• Break the bread into small pieces and soak in the milk.
• Using a food processor, blend the almonds until fine.
• Throw in the soaked bread and the soft inside of the roasted garlic.
• Add a little chicken stock or water and blend.
• When you have a fine purée, gradually add in enough stock or water to make a nice, thick, soup.
• Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper and a good drizzle of sherry vinegar and olive oil.
• Garnish with some green grapes and chopped marjoram on top.