Cream of Mushroom Soup with Roasted Garlic

I made this soup because I needed it as just one ingredient in a much more involved recipe, but it turned out so good that I had to make more for the Mr. to eat. He loves it!

3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 head of garlic
1 or 2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups veggie broth (or you can mix it up with mushroom broth if you like a more shroomy taste)
2 Tbs flour (GF, naturally)
4 Tbs Earth Balance
1 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
salt and pepper to taste

Use aluminum foil to make a cup. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic, cut the very bottom off the bulb to expose the cloves, and put the bulb in the foil, cut side up. Douse liberally with olive oil and close up the foil over the bulb. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about half an hour, or until the bulb feels soft when pressed. Now you can take the tines of a fork (or your fingers) and pull the soft, delicious garlic cloves out of the skin quite easily. Set these aside.

Meanwhile, in a large soup or stock pot, it’s time to create a roux: heat up the Earth Balance and then add the flour, stirring constantly on medium high heat for a couple of minutes until the mixture just starts to brown. Then turn down the heat a little and sautee the mushrooms and onion in the roux for 3 – 5 minutes, until the onions are soft.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the broth and the roasted garlic. You can either squish up the garlic to distribute the taste, or leave the cloves whole for fun garlicky surprises in your soup. Cover and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes.

Now add the Tofutti and soy milk, stirring well to combine. Allow to simmer another 20 – 30 minutes, or until the soup has thickened. Make sure to check it often and stir! Season to taste with salt and pepper, and you’re ready to serve.