Black Garlic Tomato Soup

I have a particularly hectic week going on this week with some sort of travel going on every day except for Friday. I had unavoidable lunches out for two of those days (though in truth, today’s lunch of salad, crab cakes, and a trio of desserts was pretty awesome, especially since it was all made by culinary students in their first term of school). In planning my week, I knew I’d need to prep things on Sunday that could frozen for lunch for later in the week. At the same time, I’ve been really intrigued by black garlic, which has been showing up at various natural food stores around town, including Trader Joe’s. Black garlic, which sounds scary, I know, is actually garlic that’s been fermented for weeks. It’s possible to make your own, but since we are living in a rental right now, and black garlic is pretty pungent smelling, I’m going to have to rely on buying it for now.

Black garlic - still in the garlic pod on the left and a peeled clove on the right.

Black garlic has a subtle flavor - somewhere between garlic and licorice. I decided to experiment and try it out in a tomato soup, which ended up being the perfect use. The soup is very easy to make - it takes just a few ingredients and about thirty minutes to cook. The best part - it freezes easily, making it a perfect lunch meal!

I’ve linked this up to Kahakai Kitchen’s Souper Sunday. If you are looking for other really great soup recipes, check out the link and you won’t be disappointed.

Black Garlic Tomato Soup

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves black garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 16 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the black garlic and onion and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes and their juice, the paprika and the salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender or use an immersion blender to get the soup to your desired consistency. Enjoy!