Potato and Roasted Garlic Soup with Wheat Berry, Watercress, and Endive Salad
- 2 large heads garlic, unpeeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 4 pounds boiling potatoes (preferably yellow-fleshed, such as Yukon Gold)
- 8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar*
- 1/2 cup scallion puree (recipe to follow)
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup wheat berries**
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bunch watercress, coarse stems discarded, washed well and spun dry (about 3 cups)
- 4 Belgian endives, leaves separated and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- Garnish: 1/4 cup scallion puree
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cups chopped scallion greens (about 1 bunch), patted dry
- Accompaniment:crusty bread
- *available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets
- **available at natural foods stores
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- On a flat surface smash garlic heads, root ends up, with palm of hand to break up cloves, leaving peels intact.
- Put garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.
- Sprinkle garlic with salt and pepper to taste and wrap tightly in foil.
- Bake garlic in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until very tender.
- Unwrap garlic carefully and let stand until cool enough to handle.
- In a bowl squeeze roasted garlic out of cloves by squeezing one end, discarding skin.
- In a kettle cook onions in remaining tablespoon oil over moderate heat until softened.
- Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and add to kettle with water.
- Bring water to a simmer and cook potatoes, covered, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer half of potatoes with cooking liquid to a bowl and in a blender, in batches, puree with garlic until smooth.
- Transfer mixture as pureed to kettle, stirring, and season soup with salt and pepper.
- Soup may be made 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered.
- In a large bowl whisk together vinegar, scallion puree, and salt and pepper to taste.
- In a saucepan bring water with wheat berries and salt to a gentle boil.
- Cook wheat berries, uncovered, adding more water if necessary, 1 1/4 hours, or until just tender.
- Drain wheat berries in a sieve and add to vinegar mixture, tossing to combine well.
- Let mixture cool.
- Wheat berry mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
- Bring wheat berry mixture to room temperature before proceeding.
- In a kettle heat soup over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.
- In a large bowl toss watercress and endives with wheat berry mixture and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour soup into 8 serving bowls and garnish each with 1/2 tablespoon scallion puree.
- Serve soup and salad with bread.
- In a saucepan heat 1/4 cup oil over moderate heat and cook scallions just until tender and bright green in color (do not let brown).
- In a blender puree scallion mixture with remaining 1/4 cup oil until smooth.
- Season scallion puree with salt and pepper and let cool.
- Makes about 3/4 cup.
garlic, olive oil, onions, boiling potatoes, water, sherry vinegar, scallion puree, water, berries, salt, belgian endives, scallion puree, olive oil, scallion greens, accompaniment, some supermarkets
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/potato-and-roasted-garlic-soup-with-wheat-berry-watercress-and-endive-salad-11437 (may not work)