Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup

Nice, hearty soup here. Roasty and thick, the roasty flavors revealed themselves more and more as we went through it. I am sure it will improve after a night in the fridge. All you need is a drizzle of olive oil and a few twists of pepper.

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups peeled, cubed eggplant
1 yellow onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 celery stalk, diced {about 1/2 cup}
1 carrot, diced (about 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow or white potato, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
1 quart chicken broth
1 sprig fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons tahini
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350·F. Wrap the garlic cloves in a square of aluminum foil. Combine the eggplant, onion, celery and carrot in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Place the garlic directly on the oven rack. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables. Cover the pan and roast 20 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to 400°F and roast until the eggplant and garlic are very soft, about 15 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic from its skin. Combine the roasted vegetables with the potato, broth, and thyme in a soup pot and simmer until the potatoes are tender enough to mash easily, about 25 minutes. Remove the thyme and discard. Add the tahini salt, pepper and lemon juice to the soup and whisk to combine the ingredients well. Simmer the soup, 2-3 minutes.

Puree the soup. Return it to medium heat and simmer, 5 minutes, or until reduced to the desired consistency. Season with the salt, pepper and/or lemon juice. Serve in heated bowls.