I'm obsessed with this French peasant soup. It contains a lot of garlic, but it doesn't taste "garlicky." It's deliciously mild, herbal, and clove-y. Need a comforting brew for a cold autumn evening? Garlic soup is the answer.
I actually wrote about French Garlic Soup, or Aigo Bouido, during the early years of this blog. Back when I didn't know how to use a camera. Consequently, my pictures were embarrassingly bad. See exhibit A, above.
Confession time: I still don't know how to use most of the buttons and wheels on my camera. One fine day, I'll look at the manual.
Onto our soup!
To start, grab 2 heads of garlic.
Separate and smash the individual cloves, but do not peel them. Just put them in a soup pot, along with some water.
Add a few sprigs of fresh, roughly-chopped sage...
Some fresh, flat-leaf parsley, which you do not have to chop...
Some salt, pepper, and thyme (I used dried thyme)...
3 or 5 whole cloves...
A Turkish bay leaf (available at most supermarkets)...
And a splash of good olive oil.
Bring the brew to a boil over a high flame. Then cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let simmer for exactly 30 minutes.
If you'd like to have some crunchy bread to accompany the soup, now would be a good time to slice up a French baguette (homemade baguettes are awesome). Put the slices on a baking sheet, and let them dry out for 20 minutes in a 325°F oven.
Also, grate up some Asiago, Swiss, or Gruyere cheese. You'll want to pass the cheese with individual servings of the soup, just as our French friends do.
Did someone say "Cheese?"
When the broth is ready, strain it, through a sieve, into a big blue bowl.
Using the back of a big spoon, press down on the contents of the sieve. This way, all the gorgeous juices will be released into the broth.
To thicken the soup, first put 3 large egg yolks in a medium-size bowl.
Whisk the yolks until thick -- about 15 seconds. Then, while whisking constantly, add some olive oil to the yolks. You'll end up with a sumptuous sauce.
No picture of these next 2 steps, because they require 2 hands: Whisk some hot broth into the yolks to temper them, and thus keep them from scrambling. Whisking constantly, add the yolks to the bowl of hot broth.
At this point, you might like to transfer the soup to an attractive serving piece (I used a tureen), and stir in a handful of minced, fresh parsley.
Ladle this herbal ambrosia into cups, mugs, or bowls, add a big pinch of shredded cheese, and a flourish of fresh parsley. Serve with the toasted rounds of baguette.
Oh. Pour out some goblets of chilled Sancere, too. It's the ideal wine pairing for this soup.
This soup is so warm and comforting, it feels like a big ole hug. Don't make me beg you to try it!
Here's the printable, complete with metric measurements:
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:18]
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Related Posts:
How I Plant, Grow, Harvest, and Store Garlic
Tabbouleh with Heirloom Tomatoes and Zucchini
My Best Sweet Potato Pie
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