50 Clove Garlic Soup

Whether you believe in garlic’s legendary flu-fighting reputation or simply love its flavour, this creamy French Garlic Soup made with 50 cloves of garlic is pure comfort in a bowl!

Nagi’s Notes

I know – 50 cloves of garlic sounds INSANE!!! But you will be so amazed, the garlic flavour in the soup is incredibly mild and mellow, sweetened from sautéing until golden in butter. There is no hint of harsh raw garlic flavour at all. It’s completely addictive and I swear it has worked wonders to cure my cold!!

PS While we don’t always use pre-peeled garlic, if there was ever a recipe where it’s encouraged, it would be this one! 🙂

50 Clove Garlic Soup

French Garlic Soup is a traditional rustic soup made by simmering a generous amount of garlic clove in a broth until it becomes sweet and mellow, without any trace of the harshness of raw garlic. There is no single way to make it, though there are some well known regional styles such as in South West France where garlic soup is finished with egg ribbons (tourin) and in Provence which is heavy on herbs and finished with a dollop of aoili.

The version I’m sharing today is a simple homestyle one that is my take on this French classic. I created it because the cold days are here in Australia and everyone seems to be getting unwell. Garlic is known for its “good-for-you” reputation, and though I can’t promise that a bowl of this soup will cure your cold, I can promise that there is no better way to consume five whole heads of garlic. And it will keep the vampires away!!

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What Goes in Garlic Soup

Here is what you need. As Nagi mentioned above, you can use pre-peeled cloves to save time. However, I forbid you to use garlic in jar or tube form for this recipe!

1. the soup

• Garlic – The star of the show. Fresh garlic only! This is one recipe where there’s really no substitute. Garlic pastes from jars or tubes have a noticeably different flavour because of the preservatives, often with a slightly sour taste. So don’t even think about it. (That’s the part when you’re supposed to say “Oui chef!”)
• Onion – Essential flavour base, don’t skip it!
• Potatoes – What makes the soup velvety. As they simmer, they break down and blend into a naturally creamy soup. Use the starchy kind:– Australia – Sebago (dirty brushed / common washed potatoes), you can get it at any supermarket. Do not use the waxy kind (red potatoes, new potatoes) because they are low in starch and will not break down as much when boiling to create a creamy soup.
  – US – Russet, Yukon Gold.
  – UK – Maris Piper, King Edward.
• Vegetable stock / broth – The liquid for the soup. Tastier than water! Use low sodium, though if you’ve only got regular salted stock, just reduce the salt listed in the ingredients 1/2 teaspoon.If you can make your own homemade vegetable stock, please do! You’ll have to increase the salt quantity by 1/2 teaspoon.
• Cream – Thickened cream / heavy cream. Just enough to add richness and round out the flavours.
• Butter – Unsalted, for sautéing the vegetables.
• Salt – The usual cooking salt / kosher salt, for seasoning.
• White pepper – I prefer white pepper here because it blends seamlessly into the soup, keeping the beautiful pale creamy colour free from little black speckles.

2. Crispy Panko Topping

• Panko breadcrumbs – Japanese-style breadcrumbs, lighter and crispier than regular breadcrumbs, they give a beautifully golden, crunchy finish. You’ll find them at most big supermarkets in the Asian foods section, or at Asian grocery stores.
• Parsley – Adds a touch of fresh colour and a light, herby lift. Flat-leaf (Italian) parsley is my preference, it has a cleaner flavour than the curly kind.
• Salt – Cooking salt / kosher salt, the one we use in almost all RTE recipes. If you’ve only got table salt, halve the amount, for salt flakes, increase by 50%.
• Olive oil – Used here to toast the panko in the pan, it’s what helps the breadcrumbs turn golden and crispy.

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How To Make Garlic Soup

This is a very simple soup and if you’ve survived peeling five heads of garlic, you’ve already conquered the hardest part of this recipe. All you have left to do is gently cook the garlic until golden, simmer everything until the potatoes are tender, then blitz until silky smooth. It doesn’t get much easier than this!

1. Sauté the garlic in butter until light golden, stirring regularly to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pot. At this stage it should smell sweet and fragrant rather than sharp.
2. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until softened. By then, the garlic should be golden.

3. Stir in potato and cook for 1 minute, to coat all pieces in the buttery garlic mixture.
4. Simmer – Add the stock, water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft (check with a knife).

5. Cream – Add the cream and simmer for another 1 minute.
6. Blitz and serve –  Blitz with a stick blender until completely smooth. Taste, adjust the seasoning and thickness if needed or add more cream if you want a richer finish. Then ladle into bowls and I encourage you to garnish the soup with a crunchy topping – see next section.

Garnish options for Garlic Soup

I always like to garnish creamy soups with something that will bring a bit of texture. Croutons is the obvious choice (see here for recipe), or for an out-of-the-packet options, crispy fried shallots is convenient.

I’ve used panko breadcrumbs that I toasted with olive oil to make it golden and crunchy with a little pinch of salt and finely chopped parsley for a bit of colour. I like the way it can be sprinkled all across the surface of the soup so you get a bit of crunch in every spoonful – because there never seems to be enough croutons!

I’d love to hear what you think if you give it a try. And if you have any questions, please drop them below – I keep a close eye on questions for the first few days after publishing new recipes so I will be sure to answer them. Bon appétit! – JB