What I love most about Spring is the range of weather. You can leave in the morning with a thin sweater, strip down to a sleeveless shirt at lunch and still need a light jacket as evening draws near. Along with the variety of clothing options, it creates food options as well. I’m not very likely to sit down to a rich winter strew filled with root vegetables. More so because I’m sick of carrots and parsnips. But I love that I can still enjoy a bowl of soup when the evenings still have a bit of a chill, accompanied by a light salad.

I needed green garlic for a recent recipe. A whole tablespoon of it. If you’ve spent any time at the markets lately, you’re probably well aware that green garlic isn’t sold by the stalk, let alone the tablespoon. So to fulfill my needs I purchased a bunch, used a quarter a stalk and was left with the rest. Green garlic isn’t something I cook with too often. I generally wait for garlic scapes, or for the most part use the bulbs alone. When I read somewhere that sauteing it over low heat resulted a cross between a light garlic flavor and caramelized onions, I couldn’t think of anything better than to stick in a soup. Considering potato leek soup is such a great success, how could subbing green garlic not be equally as awesome?

I sautéed the garlic with olive oil over low heat until it was extremely tender and browned a bit. I added the potatoes and stock and let it cook until piercing a chunk of potato with a fork lead to an explosion rather than a small puncture. I pureed and seasoned, then added the cream. Oh, the cream. There’s a fairly short list of ingredients that can instantly improve almost any dish. Bacon is high up there, agreed upon by many. Avocados or the addition of cheese always wins me over. Then there’s cream. A seemly ordinary dish is instantly elevated by a slight pour of rich cream. The soup was good before the cream. Out of this world after. I used a whole cup, spread across six servings. It was beyond rich but not in a bad way. Feel free to cut it in half if you’re not ready for the extreme flavor. Prepared at the full level of richness, it commands a crusty baguette to dip in and sop up any droplets you might not be able to collect with a spoon alone.

Creamy Green Garlic Potato Soup (Serves 6)

• 1 bunch green garlic, sliced, woody ends and bulbs removed (about 3 cups)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 c vegetable broth
• 1 c heavy cream
• Sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a pinch of cayenne to taste
• Sliced chives or scallions to garnish (optional)

Fill a large bowl with cold water and add sliced green garlic. Swirl around a bit with your hands to remove any bits of dirt and grit. Drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in a medium dutch oven over medium-low heat until shiny. Add green garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and slightly caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.

Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are falling apart, about 20 minutes.

Puree soup with an immersion blender or in batches with a food processor. Return to stove and warm over low heat if necessary. Stir in cream and season with salt and peppers to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with chives or scallions if desired.

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