Recipe(tried): Garlic Soup with Fresh Herbs and Garlic Croutons

This is one of my favorite soups to make in the springtime when the pink-tinged garlic comes out in California. The recipe comes from "The Good Cook's Book of Oil & Vinegar" by Michele Anna Jordan, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company 1992.

Garlic Soup with Fresh Herbs & Garlic Croutons

Make this delicately creamy soup only when fresh herbs and high-quality garlic are available. That leaves the late winter months, when the summer crop of garlic has lost its vibrancy and before the first spring garlic is available, to be spent longing for the rich broth, but then there is nothing like expectation to whet the appetite.

1 1/2 quarts hearty chicken stock
2 cups garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/4 cups fresh herbs, loosely packed (a mixture of Italian parsley, thyme, oregano, chives, rosemary, marjoram, sage and savory)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Asiago cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
garlic croutons
aioli (see note)

Place the chicken stock, garlic and 1 cup of the fresh herbs in a heavy pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the garlic is soft, about 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture and strain it through a sieve. Return the strained soup to the pan, add the cream, half of the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Heat the soup but do not let it come to a boil.

To serve, ladle the soup into preheated bowls. Add several croutons to each serving, along with a sprinkling of the remaining cheese and herbs. Top each serving with a spoonful of aioli and serve immediately.

[My note: I don't always have time to make aioli, so I often just add a dollop of Consorzio Roasted Garlic Olive Oil to the centers of the individual bowls.]