Cry Baby Soup Recipe: Roasted Garlic, Cauliflower, Parsnip, Leek

Those tweeting me might know that I’m having my wisdom teeth surgically removed tomorrow. A week ago, my gums began to throb badly and before long, my cheek and jaw became sore and swollen. I visited a very young, charismatic dental surgeon that had me wait for an hour and charged me $90 for the < 10 minute consultation. He suggested it is time to dig those pesky things out.
My eyes grew huge in disbelief when he warned me about the potential risks. The upper one is embedded very high inside my jaw and the removal may result in a hole from my mouth to my sinus which would require further surgery. The root of the lower one is touching the main nerve running along my jaw-line and an unsteady hand may cause temporary to permanent paralysis of the left side of my tongue, jaw, and mouth. Just perfect.

While I realize that he’s obligated to warn me about the worst-case scenario and I may be a bit melodramatic, I’m still pretty nervous. I’ve been coming up with a list of liquid to soft foods that I can enjoy post-surgery without compromising enjoyment and flavour. After all, I may have to get used to this for the rest of my life.

Here is a comforting soup to serve to those current cry babies in your life. Or as an appetizer, for lunch or a light dinner. Whichever. I’m not opposed to a drizzle of white truffle oil on top either.

Also, links to some solid recipes for soft foods are much appreciated.

Ingredients

1 leek, trimmed, washed, sliced thinly
1 small head of cauliflower, cut up roughly
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut up roughly
3 heads of garlic
1 bouquet garni
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water
salt and white pepper
cream (optional)
olive oil
Parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler
grainy Dijon mustard

Method

Roast the garlic by cutting off the top to expose cloves, drizzling with olive oil and salt, wrapping in aluminum foil, and roast in the toaster oven for 40 minutes at 350°F. Remove the cloves from the skin when it is cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, sweat the leek with some olive oil in a large, deep pot for several minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables, the bouquet garni, and stock and bring to a boil. Place the lid on, lower the heat and let the soup simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni, add the roasted garlic, and purée the soup with an immersion or in a blender. Be very careful of splattering and steam! Return the soup to the pot and add more stock, water, or cream until the desired viscosity is achieved. Season with salt and white pepper and bring the soup back up to a simmer.

Garnish with Parmesan shavings and grainy mustard. Serve piping hot.

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