Baked Potato Soup

5 lbs potatoes
1 whole head of garlic
1 cup onions, chopped
4 bay leaves
6 cups water
6 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp parsley
2 cups water
pepper to taste

Roast the garlic and potatoes at the same time. Peel off only the outer, very papery skin of the garlic. Use a sharp knife to cut about 1/2 inch off the top (pointy end) of the head. Place it cut-side up in a oven-proof dish about the same size as the garlic or one opening of a muffin tin. Spray the cut surface with a bit of no-stick cooking spray. Cover it tightly with foil, and place it in a 400F oven. Bake it for 30 minutes, remove the cover, and bake for about 15 more--you will see the cloves begin to rise out of their paper a little. Allow it to cool, and squeeze, scrape, peel, or otherwise coax the roasted garlic out of the skin, into a small dish. Bake potatoes until done. Cool. Cut potatoes into bite sized cubes, skin and all. Sautee onion and bay leaves until onions are translucent. Add 6 cups water, bouillon cubes, rosemary, fennel seed and parsley. After bouillon is dissolved, add potatoes and garlic. Simmer 1 hour or more. Remove and discard bay leaves. Remove two cups of finished soup, add additional 2 cups of water, and puree in blender. Mix back into pot. Add pepper to taste.
14 one cup servings

Number of Servings: 14

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BGPABGPA.