Cream of Garlic Soup - Vampires, Beware!!

I was craving Spanish food last night. Craig and I went to Spain for our "honeymoon" and just loved the cuisine (well, what we were able to eat given that Spain is not the most vegetarian friendly of countries). I knew I didn't have time to make either my fabulous vegetarian paella or potatas bravas, so I decided to try for a garlic soup. I found a recipe in Robin Robertson's Vegan Fire and Spice. I have cooked from this cookbook before and found the recipes to be flavorful and with an appropriate amount of kick. I am a Texan, so I can handle a considerable amount of kick, and most of the time, this book delivers the heat in just the right dosage. However, in this recipe, as written, the fire was a little too much for this Texas gal. So the recipe was quickly adapted to a "cream of garlic soup". The addition of the milk made this soup resemble more closely the soups we had in Andalusia. And it brought the heat down to a more tolerable level. It also made it decidedly non-vegan. For a vegan version, use almond milk. At one restaurant in Granada, we had an amazing Garlic-Almond soup. Next time I make this, I will try to remember to have almond milk on hand and to use that instead. I also intend to try this with roasted garlic. mmmm...

Sopa de Ajo con Crema o Almandes

Ingredients:

• 2 heads of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• salt, to taste
• 2 cups milk (I used 2%, since I had it on hand. I would suggest a little fat, but no need for heavy cream)
  
• 3 Tbsp. dry sherry (something you would actually drink)
  

Preparation:

• Mince garlic, either by hand(!!), food processor, or garlic press (I used a press).
• Heat olive oil in large sauce pan over medium heat.
• Add garlic. Cook, stirring until softened (3 min?). Be careful not to let it brown too much.
• Add broth and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes.
• Add milk and sherry. Cook, stirring, for around 5 minutes, careful not to let it come to a boil.
• Serve with fresh croutons.
  

Be sure that both you and your significant other partake of this meal. Else you may be without kisses for a while. And probably not a good idea to take this to work for lunch if you'll be visiting patients in the afternoon.

Please leave a comment and let me know if you try this recipe.