Garlic soup

In Praise of the Potato p.115
Serves 6
Preparation / Cooking time: about 45m (a bit longer if you don't have a hand-held liquidizer)

This firm favourite is a very simple yet delicious and richly flavoured soup from Lindsey Bareham's In Praise of the Potato: she took the recipe from Colin Spencer. Since Google Books does not provide a preview, the Mammal will risk life and liberty to bring you this lovely recipe through what is probably technically a breach of copyright. Though if publicizing garlic soup doesn't constitute fair use, what does?!

Ingredients
700g floury-variety potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 heads of garlic, peeled
6 tablespoons olive oil [yes, tablespoons is correct]
generous pinch saffron [use turmeric if no saffron; purely cosmetic in any case]
2 pts water
275ml single cream
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Method
Roughly chop the garlic and sauté it in the oil for 3 or 4 minutes until soft but not brown. Add the potatoes, saffron, seasoning and water. Simmer for 30 minutes, then cool and purée [cooling not necessary with hand-held liquidizer]. Reheat gently and add the cream and parsley.

© Lindsey Bareham / Grafton Books