Garlic Soup with Chicken

This is the grandmother cure-all: a rich chicken broth soup infused with two rounds of garlic (one cooked whole in the stock, then squeezed out as soft puree; another round sauteed in butter) that reads as savory and sweet instead of sharp.

Cooking whole unpeeled garlic cloves directly in the broth for the full simmer softens them into something closer to roasted garlic than raw. When you squeeze the cooked flesh out of the skins and mash it into a puree, it adds body, mellow sweetness, and deep background flavor that raw garlic never delivers.

The buttery flour roux is the thickening trick. Cooking the flour in hot butter for a minute before adding broth toasts it so it doesn’t taste raw. Whisking constantly as you add liquid gives you a silky, velvet-smooth broth rather than lumpy gravy.

Chef Tips

• Use a whole disjointed chicken rather than boneless parts. Bones and skin release collagen that gives the broth real body. Boneless chicken gives watery soup.
• Skim the fat carefully from the broth before reducing. Fat on top prevents evaporation and concentrates flavor unevenly.
• Reduce the broth by about a third before finishing. Unconcentrated broth means a thin, watery soup no matter how much garlic you add.
• Finish with fresh chopped parsley or a squeeze of lemon to brighten the heavy garlic backbone.

Variations

• Stir in a cup of cooked egg noodles or orzo just before serving for a heartier stew-like soup.
• Add a poached egg to each bowl for a traditional Spanish sopa de ajo finish.
• Top with grated Manchego or Parmesan and crusty bread croutons for a more substantial meal.