Chef notes
One of my favorite things to grow and harvest is garlic. It's so satisfying and the taste? Outrageous. You might think you love garlic but until you've eaten garlic you've grown yourself, you have no idea just how good it can be.
It's been close to six months since I harvested garlic in July, and it should still be in great shape. The papers should be intact and dry. The cloves, firm and juicy. But only just, depending on the variety and whether it's hardneck or softneck garlic. This is the time to use it up!
Roasting the heads of garlic — you heard that right ... heads — allows for deep garlic flavor without the sharpness of a finely chopped, raw garlic. Just make sure, once you strip the tops of the heads, to keep a lookout for any green sprouts or "germs" in the middle of the cloves, which mean that the garlic is starting to go off. It's literally ready to move on with this life and make some new garlic in the ground. If you can easily remove the germ, please do so, as it is bitter and mildly grassy in flavor, something we're not hoping for in this creamy soup.
The potato, another long-storage veggie that's survived the winter, helps thicken the soup and lends creaminess as well. And kale is a fabulous green that can stand cold temperatures and survives in our greenhouse all winter long, adding a pop of color, nutrition and zest to the soup.
Technique tip: Don't skimp on the garlic! Roasting gives garlic a beautifully sweet, caramelly and nutty flavor. No harshness at all! And choose garlic bulbs that feel heavy and have no signs of sprouting.
Swap option: You can add spinach instead of kale.
