Roasted Garlic and Zucchini Soup

The roasted garlic really gives this soup a hearty, robust flavor, that is just right for autumn.  This is based on a recipe in the book "Nourish" by Holly Davis.  Her culinary background is in vegan and macrobiotic diets, but this book contains some meat as well.  Her approach to cooking is a focus on healing, nutrient dense foods, which makes the book an interesting source of inspiration for GAPS food.  If you're feeling adventurous it's worth checking this book out.

INGREDIENTS:

10 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
3 large zucchini (this soup is a great way to use those zucchini that grew a little too big in the garden)
3 T olive oil (or melted fat), approximately
2 T butter or ghee
1 tsp salt
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 leek, sliced
4 cups of meat stock (I used chicken, beef would work well too)
2 T toasted walnuts

METHOD:

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the zucchini and place in a large bowl with the unpeeled garlic cloves.  Pour the 3T of olive oil or melted fat over the veggies and stir to coat, Adding more oil if necessary.  Add the salt and stir.  Pour into a shallow pan and roast in the oven for 30 mintues, making sure the veggies don't burn.

 When the veggies are done roasting in the oven, let them cool enough to handle.  Put the zucchini into the bowl of a food processor.  Peel the garlic and add the roasted pulp.  Add the toasted walnuts and blend until smooth.

In a soup pot, melt the butter or ghee and saute the chopped onions and leek until soft.  Add the meat stock and bring to a boil.  Add the pureed zucchini mixture and cook a little longer.  Taste and adjust the seasonings. 

The original recipe called for pureeing the whole soup, but I personally liked having the chunks of onion and leek still in the soup.  This would of course be up to you.  Also, the original recipe called for 2 tsp of umeboshi vinegar.  I don't know much about this vinegar, so I don't know if it's legal or not.  I have heard that it is healthy so it may be worth looking into.  I didn't feel that the soup needed vinegar so I didn't substitute for it.  I did however add sour cream, which was delicious!