Green Garlic Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound of green garlic, trimmed of green and sliced fine (1-2 bunches. Use leeks to round out volume if you don’t have enough green garlic)
1 large brown onion, sliced fine
2 stalks celery thinly sliced
½ pound potato such as Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn (~2 med.) ¼’d and sliced ¼”
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts stock (chicken or vegetable-homemade or low sodium) or water, or a combo
Cream sherry, up to a ½ cup (optional)
Sherry or white wine vinegar if needed.

METHOD:

In a soup pot, heat 2T of olive oil or butter (or a combination) over medium heat. When hot, add the alliums and cook until soft and getting a little color. Add the thyme and S&P. Stir in and wait until the aroma comes up. If using the sherry, add in up to a ½ up (the sherry will provide sweetness and a deeper rich color to the finished soup, and cook to reduce 80%.

Add the potatoes and sauté to color a little and soften. Add the stock and/or water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until all the ingredients are soft. Puree the soup either with an immersion blender or in the blender (CAUTION: If you use the blender, do not fill with hot soup-it will expand and spray all over the place. Only fill half way and cover the top of the blender with a towel and start at a low speed. Puree until all the soup is smooth.

Taste for balance- salt and pepper, if needed, vinegar. Use white wine or Sherry vinegar if you think it could benefit from a dab of sharpness.

Serve hot.

SERVES: 4

This is a lovely soup for cold nights. If you want to lighten it, use a light vegetable stock. To enrich it, use a dark chicken stock. To take it over the top, use a little cream (you will need a little extra salt to bring up the flavors over the fats).  I have made this soup without the potatoes and blending, and added ginger and noodles and sautéed shiitake mushrooms for an oriental style soup. Feel free to add carrots, tofu, greens or shredded nappa cabbage, or whatever strikes your fancy.

SOURCE: Chef Andrew E Cohen