Cooking Methods

Most recipes containing garlic have you chop it and cook it for a minute or two in olive oil or butter, usually along with other vegetables before any liquid is added. This causes it to release its flavor quickly and give the soup a strong garlic flavor.

Whole garlic cloves can also be cooked in a broth or soup until soft. They’re so mild that people rarely guess one of the central ingredients in their soup is whole cloves of garlic. One of the easiest methods for making a quick garlic soup is to throw 2 or 3 broken-up heads’ worth of unpeeled garlic cloves into a quart of boiling water, simmer them for about 30 minutes, and strain the mixture—pushing firmly on the garlic so the pulp ends up in the soup.