"i'm changing my ways"

the food: Soup of the Week! Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

the song: This is Not a Love Song- Nouvelle Vague

It's Valentine's Day weekend and that can only mean one thing. It's time to plant potatoes! This will be my first year to try potatoes. I hear they are tricky little things, but I'm excited to see how they do. 

 

Potato Valentine via Lovelypetal (plus the sweet story behind it)

 

In honor of potato planting day, I want to share with you a killer secret on how to step up your potato soup without a major fat boost. You may not want to actually make this for Valentines, though, because the secret is roasted garlic. Unless, you know, you're into that kind of thing.

This soup was so good that we didn't get a picture of it. I wish we would have, because I know that seeing is believing with these recipes. But it was late and we were hungry and all those smells were just too enticing for us to wait one more minute. So you're just going to have to trust me on this one. It has changed my life. Never again will I make potato soup without roasted garlic. It is adds an amazing rich flavor and makes all the extra fat and cheese usually added to potato soup unnecessary. For instance, the last potato soup I made had a tub of cream cheese in it. Delicious, but you don't walk away from that one feeling good. But this soup is different...complex without being heavy. Really, it just takes an extra 30 minutes or so- just enough time to prep your vegetables and make a salad. 

To finish off our bowls of creamy goodness, I added a few diced sun-dried tomatoes. Bacon would (of course) have also been very good. Since we don't do that, though, the sun-dried tomatoes provided a little surprise. They had the salt and the chew of bacon, but the flavor added a nice zing to the dish. We ate this with Ceasar salad (pre packaged from Central Market...I just can't get enough of it), bread, and white wine. My senses were so happy during this meal and I didn't feel stuffed afterward. 

Again, I apologize that I don't have a picture to share. But try the soup and you too might be reformed. I'm a roasted garlic girl and I'll never go back. 

Roasted Garlic & Potato Soup
adapted from the Kitchn 

1 head garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
2 medium white potatoes, peeled and diced
1 inch cube parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk (optional)
chopped sun-dried tomatoes (for topping)

Slice the top off your garlic and drizzle with a little olive oil. Wrap in foil, and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, until garlic is golden brown and very soft. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, squeeze garlic cloves out of their skins and mash lightly with a fork.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a saucepan. Add onion and thyme to saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the stock and potato. Add mashed roasted garlic cloves and parmesan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potato is very soft.

Blend the soup in batches until creamy with a few chunks. Return to heat and stir in the milk if you like. Cook until just heated through. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Divide between bowls and top with sun dried tomatoes.
  
~eeg