Zuppa d'aglio - garlic soup

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 Heads Garlic Fresh 10 Basil Leaves Fresh
1/4 c Olive Oil - Chopped
1 md Onion Cut up up 5 Sprigs Thyme Leaves Fresh
2 Celery Ribs Cut Up 2 ts Salt
1 c White Wine Dry ts White Pepper
1/4 c All-Purpose Flour 1/2 ts Tabasco
1 ga Chicken Stock 1 ts Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 md Potato Peeled And Cut Up 2 Garlic Cloves Sliced Very
1 c Whipping Cream - Thin

Instructions:

For Garnish 1. Cut two of the garlic heads in half across and remove the papery outer skin. Put these cut side down on a very hot surface - a griddle or black iron skillet - until they're black. Peel all the garlic completely. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions celery and the garlic until lightly browned at the edges. Add the wine and bring to a boil. 3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir the pot thoroughly but don't let it brown. Add the chicken stock 1/2 gallon water and the potato. Whisk about the pot well and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook for about an hour and 15 minutes. 4. Strain out the solids from the soup and puree them in a blender or food processor along with enough broth to ease things along. Return the puree to the soup and restore the boil. Add the whipping cream basil thyme salt pepper and Tabasco. 5. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a skillet very hot. In it toast the slivers of garlic until brown around the outside. 6 Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with roasted garlic slivers. Float a toasted garlic-buttered slice of French bread on top. Serves eight to twelve. Suggested wine: Marinasco Chef Andrea Apuzzo writes of this recipe in his book "La Cucina di Andrea's" Garlic wears many hats. Most people think of it in its

aggressive, green, aromatic, sharp form. But when garlic is cooked slowly

for a long time, it takes on a sweet nuttiness that is every bit as

interesting as its more raw flavors. The sweet side of garlic is

exemplified by this soup. Andrea's Restaurant 3100 Nineteenth Street Metaire Louisiana 70002