The official transition from winter to spring has arrived. At my house, that means both waiting for snow to melt and reveal my garden’s buried herbs and digging deeper into the freezer and dry-storage boxes to use up what’s left from last year’s harvest. So this week’s recipe pairing seemed apt: a light soup using the last stored garlic to offset still chilly evenings and savory scones using frozen herbs—or if you’re in a warmer zone than mine, the first spring cutting of herbs.
I start making garlic soup as soon as crisp fall nights arrive and continue throughout winter to the end of my stored stash in spring. It’s joined my arsenal of comforting soups, along with Hot and Sour Soup and 30-Minute Cherry Tomato Soup. I make these when I have a cold bug, because they help bring me back to health. I make these soups when I’m busy, because they’re easy and use ingredients I keep on hand. But mostly I make them because they taste so good.
Ready to give it a try? Full details are in the recipe below, but here are the basics:
You need just 2 vegetables plus some stock, spices, and eggs.
1. Simmer the main ingredients and spices in the stock.
2. Blend the soup until smooth.
3. Stir in the eggs.
4. Top with cheese and enjoy.
Make it, share it. Tag your photos: @twiceastastyblog and #twiceastastyblog
Roasted Garlic Soup
1/2 cup fresh or grilled and frozen onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 cups Vegetable Stock
2 eggs
grated cheese to taste
Separate the cloves of roasted garlic, unwrapping or squeezing them from their peels. Thinly slice the onion. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large stockpot and heat over medium heat. Add the onion slices and cook for about 5 minutes, until they defrost and begin to soften. Stir in the roasted garlic cloves, thyme, salt, and pepper, and then pour in the stock. Raise the heat to bring the soup to a boil, and then lower it again to simmer for 15 minutes.
Check the seasoning, and then blend the soup to your desired texture using an immersion or upright blender. Temper the eggs: Crack them into a bowl, and then beat them using a wire whisk until they’re uniform in color. Whisk 3–4 spoonfuls of soup into the eggs to warm them before they go into the hot soup. Remove the soup from the heat, and add the eggs in a thin stream, stirring continually as you pour. Sprinkle on cheese to taste and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Tips & Tricks
- This recipe comes together quickly for a lunch or light dinner if you’ve already roasted your garlic and have grilled onion in your freezer. If you haven’t planned ahead, make your scones first (see below) and roast fresh garlic heads while the scones are baking; check them early because of the higher-than-normal temperature. Then add a few minutes to your soup-cooking time so that you can sauté fresh onion.
- I highly recommend using homemade stock for this recipe; commercially packaged broths tend to be thick and can overpower the delicate garlic flavor of this soup. It’s easy to make, but if you don’t have any on hand, thin a commercial stock with water and use less salt.
- This soup looks and feels light but is surprisingly filling. Bonus ingredients can make it even more so and can be a great way to use up leftovers. Before serving, stir in up to 1 pound of sautéed mushrooms or 2 cups of Pot Beans. A spoonful of Homemade Harissa or Home-Smoked Chili Paste will give it a kick, and a splash of white wine or cream will make it even richer.
- Freshly baked scones go beautifully with this soup, but in Spain they typically stir or blend in chunks of bread as a thickener. For another option, make croutons from the end of a loaf and toss them on top.
Twice as Tasty
If you’ve only made sweet scones, you’re in for a surprising treat when you swap fruit for herbs. These easy quick breads can be lighter than biscuits and pack an impressive amount of flavor, no matter how you stored your herbs. Here are my favorite flavoring options:
- Fresh herbs: This would be your top choice—if your garden isn’t still buried under feet of snow. But if you have pots you’ve moved indoors or are already seeing the first signs of spring, snip away.
- Frozen herbs: Chives in particular freeze well; I prefer them to dried stalks. Use the same amount as you would if they were fresh.
- Pesto Base: Herbs frozen in ice cube trays with garlic and oil can be defrosted and blended into the dough. Use 1 cube of pesto base for every 2 tablespoons of fresh herbs.
- Herb Butter: Herbs that have been blended into butter and frozen can be worked straight into the dough of baked goods. Simply replace the butter in the recipe with your herb butter; the herb flavor may be lighter.
- Salt-Preserved Herbs: Fresh herbs stored in salt (or even sugar) stay flavorful and bright and infuse their flavor into the preserving salt. The herbs can be used tablespoon for tablespoon in place of fresh ones; the salt is delicious sprinkled on top of scones for bonus flavor.
- Dried herbs: Although dehydration is the most common storage form for herbs in many kitchens, they’re my last choice for scones because the dough is made and baked so quickly that they can’t fully release their flavor. But in a pinch, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh.
Ready to give it a try? Full details are in the recipe below, but here are the basics:
You just need some baking staples, sour cream, and your chosen herbs.
1. Mix the butter into the dry ingredients.
2. Mix in the sour cream and egg.
3. Add your chosen herbs.
4. Bake and enjoy.
Make it, share it. Tag your photos: @twiceastastyblog and #twiceastastyblog
Savory Herb Scones
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1 cup Homemade Sour Cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh or frozen chives, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped, or 2 cubes Basil Pesto Base, defrosted
salt from Salt-Preserved Herbs (optional)
Mix the flour, sugar, kosher salt, pepper, baking soda, and butter with a fork until small clumps appear, like pie-crust dough. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg; stir them into the dough with the fork until just mixed. Stir in the lemon zest, chives, and parsley until they’re just mixed in and the dough is soft and slightly moist. Divide into 8 wedges or rounds, and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt from a jar of Salt-Preserved Herbs, if desired. Bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Makes 8 scones.
Tips & Tricks
- Chives and parsley are some of the first herbs to appear in my garden in spring, and they bring out the flavors of Roasted Garlic Soup. But experiment with the fresh herbs you have each month: oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, dill, sorrel, and more.
- The herbs you save using the methods I mention in the introduction can also vary. I’ve made these scones with parsley pesto base, orange zest and sage herb butter, salt-infused rosemary, and even frozen lemon zest.
- Store-bought sour cream can be used in place of homemade; it won’t affect the finished texture. But if you fall in love with these scones, consider trying your hand at homemade dairy: Homemade Sour Cream is surprisingly easy to make, free of unnecessary fillers, and fuller in flavor.
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