http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ten-mothers-garlic-and-spinach-soup.html
Ten Mothers Garlic and Spinach Soup
Adapted from The Roasted Vegetable, by Andrea Chesman (Harvard Common Press, 2002).
This delicious broth, redolent with garlic and enriched with the vitamins and minerals of fresh spinach, takes its name from an old folk saying that garlic is as good as ten mothers.
This soup is not only tasty and nourishing, it makes a comforting remedy for winter sniffles and sneezes.
INGREDIENTS
2 heads garlic
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups good-quality vegetable broth
4 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves, tough stems discarded.
Preheat oven to 425.
Remove the outer papery covering of the garlic. Slice off the top of each head so most of the cloves are exposed. Place on a square of aluminum foil for easy cleanup, or select the smallest baking dish you have. Drizzle 1 teaspoon oil over each head. Fold the foil over the garlic to completely enclose it, or cover the baking dish with foil.
Roast for about 45 minutes, until the garlic is completely soft and lightly browned.
When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic pulp into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the broth and stir well to combine. Simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Just before serving, stir in the spinach and simmer until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir vigorously (the garlic has tendency to settle out.)
Serve hot.
Serves 2 to 4.
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16 comments
add your comment »Roast tomato soup, roast curried parsnip soup, roast onion soup, home made bread, a savoury or sweet tart -it's endless really but by utilising one oven for many things at same time your not wasting energy, your working it to your advantage.
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I think this sounded wonderful, of course we would use the oven for something else at the same time we roasted the garlic... I assumed that was a given, and thoughts of "what else can I cook while roasting the garlic" ran through my mind automatically. I believe most of us here are energy, food and health conscious, etc. I nice hearty organic whole grain bread would be nice :) or roasted root veggies. Thank you for posting the recipe and all that you do here.
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I bet this could be adapted and used with other types of greens people typically cook, too. It will just taste different than the spinach will, that's all. I thought of this, since I unfortunately developed a food intolerance to spinach. Other greens, though, are actually in a different family and I seem to be alright with those. Just not lettuce and spinach. I bet it would be good with any green a person decides to try.
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Could you do me a favor and not use attacking type language please? A person only needs to plan ahead when wanting to roast the garlic and just do it when the oven is already going to be used for cooking something else at the same time. And, if you don't want to do that, then simply crush a small amount of garlic into the broth and be satisfied with that. It will just have a different flavor than the roasted garlic will.
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Preheat the oven to 425. Then use the oven for 45 minutes to roast 2 heads of garlic! What a staggering personal waste of energy! This recipe should be illegal! No cooking time is necessary at all. Press or finely chop the garlic. Put this together with the stock and oil in a saucepan and heat until it bubbles. Turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped spinach leaves and it’s done. Fresh chopped spinach leaves wilt seconds after being dunked in bubbling hot water. No single ingredient here needs actual cooking. As for 45 minutes of high energy oven time for a thimbleful of garlic....please.
Far, far better had you printed this recipe in red and offered it as an example of an old-fashioned, obsolete, wasteful and dangerous way of approaching cooking, utterly unsuited to current needs – and printed alongside it an energy aware version.
As individuals, if we are sincere in our wish to keep energy usage to a minimum – for obvious reasons, surely we should be looking carefully at our own personal energy usage, and taking responsibility for keeping it as low as possible. I suggest that whoever at Care2 allowed this recipe to be published in your name should consider their position carefully. Clearly their commitment is at best only skin deep. It cannot possibly be coming from the heart, or this completely energy-unaware recipe could not have found its way onto a website that is committed to caring for the planet.
Please wake up.
Robert White
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Garlic & spinach has to be two of the best vegetables for health & well being. Thank you for sharing this with all the care2 members. Sometimes something so easy is the most beneficial, it does not have to be complicated to be so good for your health. Again Thank you kindly for sharing this.
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Just to help out, "Past Member" says:
Esteemed Annie, I write from Columbia. I only speak spanish. I use the Google translator to understand you. Even though the information I lose is much because that translation system is not very capable, thanks to it, I am able to understand many things. Among those, your delicious recipes to have a healthier life. Thank you. I hope you understand me. (If you don't speak spanish, please use the translator).
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Estimada Annie: Yo escribo desde Colombia. Solo hablo español. Uso el traductor de google para entenderla, aunque es mucha la informaciòn que me pierdo porque ese sistema de traducciòn no es tan eficaz, gracias a ello logro entender muchas cosas, entre ellas sus deliciosas recetas para tener vida mas sana. Gracias. Espero me entienda. (Si no habla español, por favor use el traductor)
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Roasting 2 heads of garlic in an oven for 45 min. is not being eco-conscious. How about an alternative for whenthe oven isn't full...
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Call me a nut, but I do not roast the garlic first, just steam it and follow the rest of the recipe.
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