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Garlic Piperade Soup: Put those 80 cloves of garlic to good use!

By dramamamafive January 19, 2013 Recipes, soup recipes, Uncategorized 25 Comments
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Just imagine this bowl, hot and steamy, on your table tonight!

Just imagine this bowl, hot and steamy, on your table tonight!

This recipe–with its 80 cloves of garlic, blanched and then minced–maybe should have made me blanche when I first ran across it in my worn copy of Jane Brody’s Good Food Book. But I didn’t even flinch. In fact, I did the opposite of blanche: I became intrigued, and instantly I was filled with a desire to make this soup more than anything else on earth. Well, nearly.

I love garlic, and I love how good it is for me and my family, so I decided to give it a try, although I held my breath when I served it to my family. Garlic is a natural antibiotic and an antioxidant, after all, among other things, so of course I’m going to try to get as much of it as possible into those I care for, right? My family, dear and sweet as they all are, are not tremendously courageous when it comes to trying out new recipes, bless them.

This time, my family surprised me.

They absolutely loved this soup. They still love this soup, after my preparing it for them countless times. Though fall is the ideal time to make this soup, when my garden is still full of heirloom tomatoes and bell peppers of every color and the pantry is well stocked with my winter’s supply of fresh onions and garlic from the garden, you can make it any time, even when you are reduced to buying canned tomatoes and fresh peppers and all the rest, and when we are struggling with winter’s doses of colds and the flu.

It’s a surprisingly delicious soup, and with all those nutritious vegetables, you just know that you’re building better health by the spoonful.

When there is somebody sick in our house, we always make this soup. The smell of all that garlic and the onions, too, simmering in a rich broth is enough to make the sickest person perk up a little. That smell says “Somebody loves me,” and that’s the first step in getting better, don’t you agree?

Here's a close-up to further tantalize you.

Soooo–tasty—!!

Have I convinced you to try it yet? Here’s the recipe, just in case I have:

Garlic Piperade Soup
Recipe Type: soup
Author: Jane Brody et moi
Serves: 16
I quadrupled this recipe because I have a large family and we like second-day soup the best. But you can cut it down to half, or even a quarter, if you don’t want so much soup at once. It freezes well, too, though, so there’s that to consider!
Ingredients
  • 80 garlic cloves, blanched for 30 secs in boiling water, rinsed, peeled, and sliced.
  • 8 cups sliced onions
  • 4 cups sliced green peppers, or a combination of green and red or yellow
  • 6 T oil, preferably olive
  • 12 cups peeled, sliced ripe tomatoes (or use canned)
  • 8 cups beef broth (I’ve used deer bone broth, or chicken broth, and all are good)
  • sliced dark bread, cubed
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • grated Parmesan for garnish (optional, but so good!)
Instructions
  1. In a large sauce pan or stock pot, saute the onions and peppers in the oil until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Reduce heat, cover the pan, tightly simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Pour in the broth, heat the soup just to a boil. When serving, heap bread cubes on top of each bowl, grind fresh pepper, and sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Soo good!

This soup, with all of its chopping and sauteing, is really a great thing to make with a couple of friends or children in the kitchen with you!

I’d love to hear about it if you try out this recipe, and if you’d like to share it with your friends (because they probably need to have more reasons to eat garlic, too!) that would be awesome, too. (And thank you!)

🙂

*hugs*

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25 thoughts on “Garlic Piperade Soup: Put those 80 cloves of garlic to good use!”

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Thanks Karen, I’d love to hear about it if you make it! Oooh, take a picture of you sitting out on that lovely balcony, overlooking the sea, with your bowl of garlic piperade!

      Reply ↓
    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Vicki, when you blanche the garlic first, it takes away the sharpness. You just have to make sure your hubby likes it, too! 😉

      Reply ↓
  3. Chef William

    Well I think you know where I’m going with this one. I must have my daily garlic “Fix” or the world just does not spin correctly. I must make this recipe asap. Of course I will tweak it just a tad, chefs do that sort of thing you know. It looks so Good and I’m sure my wife will like it as well. Thanks for sharing a healthy recipe.

    Reply ↓
    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Chef, I like to make my own bread to top it with, also, something very hearty and chewy. Don’t use store bread, whatever you do, it’ll just soak in and be soggy. I’d love to hear about your tweaks when you make it! Thanks again for stopping in!

      Reply ↓
  6. Denys Kelley

    Nothing like hot soup on a chilly day. Makes the house smell good. Not sure about 80 gloves of garlic. Now I’ll have to try this… but of course maybe not with so much garlic, but then why not!

    Reply ↓
  7. Kina Diaz DeLeon

    Amy,
    This sounds amazing and I would love to be able to share it with the click of a button on other social media sites so my foodie friends can enjoy your offerings as well.

    I copied and pasted to share on facebook and on twitter.

    Blessings,
    Kina

    Reply ↓
  8. Anne Dovel

    1. I love my Jane Brody cookbooks!
    2. I love this soup!
    Making me feel like getting up out of my chair where I’ve been sorting paperwork for hours and make some soup!
    Thanks!
    Anne

    Reply ↓
  9. Anita-Clare Field

    Oh wow, you may have noticed I’m a bit soup obsessed from the 40 plus recipes on my blog. This looks delish and I cannot wait to give it a whirl. I just love garlic too, it’s just amazing I’m going to share this my FB page.

    Reply ↓
  10. Lynda Holliday

    Amy, do you perchance have a bread recipe you would like to share that would go well with this soup?? Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply ↓
    1. dramamamafive Post author

      I do, Lynda, I do! Let me work on a quick blog post for that. It’s just my basic light whole wheat bucket dough bread. It’s the easiest (and the best!) thing EVER. I’ll try to get that done in the next week or two, just for you! <3

      Reply ↓
  11. Edward Kirby

    I’ve been making this soup for over three decades now. My variations:

    — I use elephant garlic now, and plenty of it. The amount of cloves are still the same (80), but the elephant garlic is so much larger.

    — I use red, orange and yellow peppers instead of green, and I (quite painstakingly) slice them very thin; the result is almost like a technicolor spaghetti effect, and with the dark bread, the soup is as intriguing to the eyes as it is to the nose and tongue.

    Reply ↓
    1. dramamamafive Post author

      oooh! I love these suggestions! I’ve also used the colored peppers instead of the green. Do you use a sharp knife, of do you have some sort of slicer that you use?

      Reply ↓
  12. Edward J Kirby

    I use a regular knife; no special tools here.

    I’m currently preparing to make my annual autumnal batch of soups (which I then freeze and enjoy over the coming months) and, in discussing this with my sister, received this wonderful idea from her: I like the garlic sliced really thin, and she suggested that I do that with a razor blade. Also painstaking, I know. But it will look great!

    I’ll let you know how this turns out. [Eventually, that is. I just realized my original post was from four years ago!]

    Reply ↓
  13. Edward J Kirby

    OK, coming back again after 4 years. Like the winter Olympics, I guess. I ran this by the Microsoft A.I. (“Copilot”) — who happens to be *really* good when it comes to making slight modifications to recipes — and this is what it recommended…:

    1. Bloom the garlic after blanching: The recipe blanches the garlic to soften its bite. After slicing it, give it 30–45 seconds in the pan after the onions/peppers soften but before adding tomatoes. This deepens the aroma, prevents the garlic from tasting “steamed” and makes the broth richer without heaviness. It’s a tiny step with a big payoff.

    2. Add a small amount of smoked paprika: just ¼–½ teaspoon for a full batch. This enhances the roasted‑pepper vibe and adds depth without changing the soup’s identity.

    High‑leverage ways to cut the workload (and the pain)…
    1. Use a mandoline for the peppers and onions: this is the closest thing to “food processor speed” while still giving you the long, thin strips that make this soup so good. Set it to a ⅛‑inch or 3 mm slice. Run peppers and onions through in seconds. Zero hand strain. And perfectly even slices that cook beautifully. Safety note: Use the hand guard or a cut‑resistant glove. Mandolines are efficient but unforgiving. This one change alone cuts your prep time by 70–80%.

    2. Use a garlic slicer or micro‑plane for the 80 cloves. You don’t need to hand‑slice garlic. You’ve earned the right to retire that technique. Options that work:
    — Garlic slicer (OXO makes a good one). It produces thin, even slices, with zero hand fatigue, and is much faster than a knife. Perfect for this recipe, which wants garlic ribbons, not minced paste.

    — Microplane (for part of the garlic). It turns garlic into a fine paste which adds body to the broth. Use for 10–20 cloves to deepen the base flavor. Slice the rest with the slicer.

    This combo gives you complexity without the hand pain.

    3. Use the food processor strategically. You’re right that you can’t just dump everything in. But you can use it for specific components:
    — Use the slicing disc, not the blade. The slicing disc produces long, thin slices — not mush. It works beautifully for onions and decently for peppers if you cut them into halves or thirds first. And again, zero strain on your hands. Also very fast. If you have a slicing disc, this is the closest thing to “push button, get Piperade.”

    4. Switch to “strip‑cut” peppers from the store. Most grocery stores now sell. Pre‑cut fajita peppers, pre‑cut onion strips, and mirepoix mixes (not relevant here, but good to know). The fajita‑cut peppers are exactly the shape you want for this soup. You may still want to slice them thinner, but the bulk of the work is done. This is the lowest‑effort option.

    5. Use a sharper, lighter knife. If you do any knife work at all, switching to a lighter, thinner blade reduces hand strain dramatically. A 6‑inch santoku or petty knife is easier on aging hands than a heavy 8‑inch chef’s knife. A freshly sharpened blade requires far less grip strength. This doesn’t eliminate the work, but it makes it much more comfortable.

    What I’d recommend for you specifically (given your cooking style, batch prep, and the fact that your hands are starting to complain): Mandoline for peppers and onions; garlic slicer for the bulk of the garlic; microplane for 10–20 cloves to enrich the broth; food processor slicing disc as a fallback for onions if you’re doing a huge batch; store‑bought pepper strips when you want a low‑effort day. This keeps the soup’s texture exactly the way you like it while eliminating 90% of the hand strain.

    [Very good, CP/”Copilot”. Copilot actually read my own comments here back to me when I asked it for suggestions on this soup. I had forgotten that I had even made them in the first place. So this comment is directed at you CP!]

    Reply ↓

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