Creamy Garlic Soup With Crunchy Croutons
Each bowl of creamy, luscious soup is topped with crunchy fried croutons giving this delicious soup a lovely contrast of textures.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
For the soup:
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 leek, white part only, diced
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 heads garlic, peeled
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 7 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup cream
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
For the croutons:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 slices French bread, cubed
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Make the croutons:
- Cut slices of bread into ½ inch cubes.
- In a large skillet, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat.
- When oil is hot add croutons.
- Fry croutons, stirring them often to brown them on all sides.
- When croutons are a rich golden brown remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Season croutons with garlic powder and set them aside for later.
For the soup:
- Heat a ¼ cup olive oil in a large dutch oven pot over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, leeks and dried thyme. Sauté until tender, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Reduce heat to low and add the garlic cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes and broth to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add cream and mix well.
- Remove the pot from heat. Using an emersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
- Add chopped parsley reserving some for garnish.
- To serve: ladle soup into bowls and top with freshly cracked pepper, a handful of croutons and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.