Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup Recipe

With its golden hue and silky texture, this creamy roasted garlic soup makes a deliciously warming and comforting meal. This soup is elegant enough as a starter for your next dinner party, but it is also ideal for a cozy midweek dinner at home.

The sweetness and nuttiness of roasted garlic are perfectly complemented by the savory notes of Parmesan cheese and the richness of smoked paprika. Recipe developer Annabelle Randles uses potatoes and cream to thicken the soup and give it a smooth and velvety texture. Randles likes to serve this soup topped with croutons and Parmesan cheese shavings.

For a richer flavor, Randles recommends using freshly roasted garlic heads rather than roasted garlic from a jar. If you're short on time, these can be prepared ahead. When you are ready to make the soup, simply squeeze the cloves out of the skins and follow the rest of the recipe instructions. This creamy roasted garlic soup can easily be made vegan by swapping the cream and cheese for plant-based alternatives.

To make this recipe you will need some garlic, potatoes, vegetable stock, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, onion, smoked paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Optional toppings include croutons and Parmesan cheese shavings.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Slice the garlic heads across in half.

Place the garlic heads on a large sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Wrap the garlic securely in the foil.

Place the foil package on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven until the garlic cloves are golden and completely soft, about 50 to 60 minutes.

When done, squeeze out the garlic cloves in a bowl and discard the skins.

In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Fry the onion until soft and golden, about 6 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, thyme, and smoked paprika and cook for a minute or so.

Add the vegetable stock and squeezed garlic cloves.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes until the potato is completely soft.

Switch off the heat and liquidize the soup with a handheld blender until smooth.

Stir in the cream and Parmesan. Reheat if needed to melt the cheese.

Season to taste with lemon juice and salt.

Serve immediately topped with a drizzle of cream, croutons, and Parmesan cheese shavings, if desired.

Garlic is an emblematic ingredient of French and Mediterranean cooking and has been a staple in many world cuisines for centuries. It is prized for its uniquely distinct and pungent flavor as well as its many health benefits. Annabelle Randles rarely cooks without it, and whenever in the South of France, she never misses a chance to visit a local farmer's market and bring back a couple of garlic braids to have at hand in her London kitchen.

Versatile and readily available, garlic is one of the most widely used ingredients the world over. Whether used raw, dehydrated, or cooked, it has the ability to enhance the taste of any dish and adds depth to meat, fish, and vegetable dishes, as well as dressings, sauces, marinades, and baked savory goods.

Besides its many culinary uses, garlic is touted for its numerous health benefits, such as aiding digestion, benefiting cardiovascular health, and lowering blood pressure. It is also treasured in traditional herbal medicines worldwide for its antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties.

When raw, garlic has a strong, sharp, and pungent taste that works wonders in pestos, dressings, and various sauces. However, if you want to unleash more subtle flavors roasting is the answer. Roasted garlic tastes much different than raw, mellowing out to become sweet, savory, and nutty, with delicious caramel undertones. This is due to a chain of chemical reactions, which involve the naturally occurring sugars and amino acids contained in garlic.

Once heated the natural sugars caramelize — they break down and turn brown — producing sweet and delicious caramel notes. In addition, the increase in temperature enables the sugars and amino acids contained in garlic to interact together, through a process known as the Maillard reaction. This process not only contributes to the browning of roasted garlic but also creates a range of complex flavors and aromas that give roasted garlic its nutty and savory notes.

Caramelization and the Maillard reaction both add depth and richness, making roasted garlic the perfect addition to soups, stews, or sauces. It's so good that you can also simply enjoy roasted garlic as a spread on bread or crackers!