[FTC Disclosure]  This post is not sponsored on behalf of anyone.  However, I received free samples of the Meat Church seasonings and received the SABER grill as part of a compensation package.

We have been making versions of this recipe for garlic soup for over 20 years.  I was told that it is based on a peasant dish in Mexico so it is budget friendly, but it is also delicious and easy to make.  

It has a creamy texture and bold aromatics which make it the prescription for soothing the symptoms of the common cold. Alexis got hit with a cold over the weekend so I made a batch for us.  

That reminds me of when we first got married and I had a bad cold.  Alexis didn't cook much but she wanted to take care of me so she decided to make this soup for me.  I took a spoonful and my mouth instantly puckered at what tasted like flavored sea water.  Like I said, she was new to cooking and mixed up tablespoons and teaspoons when measuring boullion for the broth.  A wee bit salty.  It still made me feel better just from her intentions and we've laughed about it over the years.  

When you first start cooking the bread, it will swell up and might make you wonder if you did something wrong.  Don't panic, the bread will break up as it cooks.

Mexican Roasted Garlic Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups cubed bread
• 1/2 teaspoon Meat Church Garlic and Herb Seasoning
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 heaping tablespoon roasted garlic
• 1 teaspoon Meat Church Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 4 ounces chopped green chiles
• for garnish:  Mexican crema, tortilla strips, finely chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Add oil to a preheated stockpot.  When the oil is hot (shimmering), add the bread and Garlic and Herb Seasoning, stirring to coat evenly.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the bread is golden brown.  Stop here and you have excellent homemade croutons.
2. Add the broth, roasted garlic, and Meat Church Lemon Pepper Seasoning.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. OPTIONAL  For a more rustic soup, skip this step.  For a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to blend the soup base.
4. While whisking the egg, add in 2-3 ladles full of the hot soup mixture and then stir that mixture back into the soup.  Add the green chiles and allow soup to simmer another 5 minutes.
5. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
6. Serve garnished with whatever you like.  This time we used a few extra croutons, Asiago cheese, and finely chopped green onion.  

Yield: 6-8 servings

Notes/Substitutions

• Bread - use crust for rustic soup, crusts off for a smoother texture
• Meat Church Garlic and Herb Seasoning - For this recipe, you could use half garlic salt and half dried oregano.  It won't be the same but it will be good.  Heck, when we first started making the recipe 2 decades ago, it was just salt and pepper and it was still fantastic.

You can buy tubes of roasted garlic paste be we almost always have roasted garlic on hand.  I used the last of our roasted garlic salt for the soup so I roasted some more while I cooked.  Cut off the top third of several heads of garlic and place on a small sheet pan.  Season with salt, pepper, or whatever and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast at 350°f until golden and fragrant, about 1 hour.

I cooked these on a Mini-Max.  My set up was a plate setter, a woo ring, and a standard grate.  I closed the grill lid and let them go for an hour.

I roasted the garlic in the small kamado grill while I cooked the soup on the side burner of my SABER Elite 1500 SSE.

This cart is just a standard stainless wire mesh cart that we bought at Sam's.  In addition to being my "cook table" for the Mini-Max, it also stores my small griddle, some grilling accessories, and is a convenient place for my mise en place.

Meat Church just announced these new additions to their popular BBQ seasoning line up on Thanksgiving Day.  

• Garlic and Herb Seasoning - I expected this to be "just okay" but I was surprised.  It would be great as a beef roast rub.  Meat Church's Garlic and Herb Seasoning would be excellent in a compound butter.  It has a fine texture and would be good as a finishing seasoning for grilled steaks, chicken, or pork.
• Seafood Seasoning - I haven't tried it on anything yet but tastes appropriate straight out of the bottle.
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning - Brightly flavored, this will add that bump when you're almost finished cooking but the recipe still "needs something".  It is a notch or two above the store bought lemon pepper seasonings that I have tried.  

Priced at $9 for 6-ounce bottles, I thought that these bite into the wallet but then I compared to Penzey's and found that Meat Church is actually less expensive.

Rule of thumb for making croutons - make 25% more than you need.  Once cooked, these tend to disappear one at a time - for quality control, of course.

A feature of the SABER Elite 1500 SSE that I love is the dual coil side burner.  First, they let you size your burner to the size of the pot you are using which makes a difference for proper cooking.  Second, when I'm trying to bring a large volume of liquid to a boil, you can kick both burners on to speed things up. 

Rich and soothing, this will make you feel better....whether you're sick or not.