Cauliflower Soup

On my first trip to Europe I was served soup to start each lunch or dinner. The weather was cold and the warm broth was not only tasty but also comforting. Since that experience I have started to make sure to have soup on hand when the weather turns chilly. Soup is a satisfying comfort food that can be a main dish, side dish, or an appetizer depending on the recipe and your level of hunger.

Cauliflower soup is easy to make

STEP ONE

To make a pot of cauliflower soup all you need to add the following ingredients to a soup pot:

• 2 cups water
• 1 stalk celery- diced
• 1 large onion - diced
• 1 medium head cauliflower - diced

Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

NOTE: I let my soup cool enough to blend in my VITAMIX. (I have found that if I add it right away the VITAMIX stalls.) An immersion blender can be used right away if time is of the essence. 

STEP TWO

Gather the following ingredients:

• 2 TBSP flour - I use gluten free flour (Bob's Red Mill 1-1)
• 2 TBSP butter or vegan alternative
• 1 cup broth - I use low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup milk of choice - I use almond milk

Remove the ingredients from the pot and blend in VitaMix.
Melt the butter in the pot then add the flour and mix until thickened.
Add the broth and stir until combined/flour dissolves and rolling bubbles begin to form.
Add soup mixture to rue and stir to combine.
Add milk and stir

Serve ... garnish with salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
Options: add seeds or bread crumbs ( I use gluten free) to the top for additional texture 

Cauliflower soup does not take much time

You can complete the dish in less than 30 minutes ...  or more ...  if you wait to let the mixture cool. 

This recipe is versatile

I use this recipe for Broccoli Soup too!

No Waste

It is important to make the soup without WASTE. If your cauliflower head has green leaves still attached, remove the leaves and use them in another dish like a stir fry.

Roasted Cauliflower "Steak"

The farmers market has had quite a bit of cauliflower and broccoli recently. I have been finding different ways to use each vegetable and decided to make a cauliflower "steak" the other day ... reminiscing about a fantastic cauliflower steak I ate at Founding Farmer's in Washington, DC.



You can steam the head of cauliflower for a few minutes to start the cooking process, or just place it in the oven hard/raw. The baking time differs based on the size of the head of cauliflower. A raw cauliflower that is the size of an adults hand outstretched (as if they were to attempt to palm a basketball) is 30 -45 minutes.

Ingredients: Head of cauliflower, olive oil, paprika, and non-stick aluminum foil

Instructions: 

• Rinse cauliflower and remove stems for another recipe
• OPTIONAL: Steam head of cauliflower for a few minutes to reduce baking time
• Place cauliflower on non-stick aluminum foil and spray with olive oil. 
• Sprinkle with paprika
• Tent the foil to partially steam the cauliflower
• The last 10 minutes, expose the cauliflower to the heat so it turns out to have some texture.

Enjoy with roasted organic potatoes or mashed potatoes or hummus and gluten free bread