Garlic Soup

Ingredients:
1 large head garlic cloves
salt
pepper
1 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 bay leaf
some sprigs of parsley
3 to 4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds diced potatoes

Drop head of unpeeled garlic cloves into about 2 quarts of boiling water for about 1 minute. Drain and run under cold water. Peel. Put the garlic into 2 quarts of boiling water, along with 2 teaspoons of salt, a pinch of pepper, the cloves, sage, thyme, bay leaf, olive oil, and parsley. Simmer 1/2 hour.

Strain soup. Press liquid out of garlic cloves and discard. Return soup to pot and add diced potatoes. Simmer about 25 minutes. Correct seasonings and serve with French bread and grated Swiss or a good Parmesan cheese.

This recipe sounds awesome! We are huge garlic fans around here. I'm going to copy this and try it one of these days!

Please tell me why you discard the garlic instead of running the cloves through a blender and adding to the stock. Once you cook the garlic that way, it isn't "strong" enough to matter.

What's the point of blanching the garlic?

I guess it is to make it easier to peel, but I have been served garlic soup with the whole head in the soup, and you can cut it with a spoon and take what you want of the garlic. Once it is cooked, the enzyme release doesn't happen.

I just squash garlic cloves with the flat side of the knife. The the garlic peel just falls off. Then chop the garlic clove and enjoy.