Simple Mild Garlic Soup

Dear Climate Culinarians,

I happily admit that I worried about my timing when I chose to write about small farms … in the dead of winter. No rainbow of vegetables and fruit! There was garlic, though, when I visited one of my interviewees for this story, Peter Treiber. And that garlic bulb led to this garlic story - and I knew exactly what I’d cook for you at the end of the month.

For a whole year, I’ve been ending my monthly themes with a recipe, after all. This soup is not an experiment. It has been on rotation in my kitchen for so long that I call it a seasonal classic.

Here in the Northeast, there is not much growing in January. But local farmers grow things that store well. Potatoes, onions, and garlic are on top of that list. Here’s how I like use these seasonal ingredients.

(This makes about 2 servings - you can easily adjust to serve a crowd!)

1 large Russet potatoe

garlic, to taste (I’d start with 5 cloves, and up to a whole bulb)

1/2 cup of milk (soy or dairy)

1 onion

2 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp paprika

salt, pepper to taste

Peel garlic cloves and roughly slice. Set aside.

Peel potatoe and cut into small dice.

Place potatoes and garlic in a pot and add water so that the veggies are covered, just so. Bring to a boil, add salt (I’d use 1/2 teaspoon), then simmer for 15 min.

Meanwhile, slice onion into rings or strips (half rings). In a pan, heat oil until it starts to shimmer, add onions. Sprinkle with paprika and stir until all the onion bits are covered. Remove heat to medium and cook, stirring every once in a while, for about 15 min.

Test potatoe bits: They should start to fall apart. Remove pot from heat. Carefully (hot!!) blend everything, including the liquid (I use an immersion blender, but you can also pour the ingredients in a stand-up blender and then return to the pot).

Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of water. Return to stove and cook on medium-high heat until bubbles start to form. If the soup thickens more than you like, add water. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve soup with onions on top.

I believe a shared meal is the best opportunity to talk about climate solutions. And perhaps about where your garlic came from. So I hope you’ll enjoy sharing your new knowledge about big and small farms, along with this soup.

Have you been wondering why I felt the need for a garlic recipe? Or what I meant by “big and small farms”? I’ve been writing about American family farms this whole month. Here’s the whole series:

• Small Farms: Back to the Land 2.0? - Get to know an artist-turned-farmer and an agriculture journalist who tried to leave farm life behind.

• For the Love of Farms - Small farms are struggling. What can we do to protect them? Also, where does all that garlic come from?

• 5 books about small farms and our food system - reading recommendations, including a cookbook, of course.

What’s next? I don’t know yet. I’ll take a break from publishing weekly newsletters to figure this out. Meanwhile, you get to tell me what you want me to do in this survey.

Eat, read, repeat!
Petrina

Climate Culinarians is a weekly newsletter delivering food for thought to people who care about what they eat. I’m Petrina Engelke, journalist and book coach. I help readers discover links between yummy food and global warming - with a focus on solutions and actions we can take. Read more about this newsletter & me here.