More About Soup

Since soup season is drawing to a close, I am trying to make my favorites before the weather gets too warm.  I found some cauliflower on sale, and decided to make Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup today. 

I love cream soups, but heavy cream and butter just don't fit into my healthy eating plan.  Then I discovered pureeing vegetables to create the same creamy texture.  Using an immersion blender, any soup can be pureed to resemble a cream soup, provided there is at least one ingredient that has some body to it.  White beans are an excellent choice, but a diced potato or other starchy vegetable will work nicely.

For my Roasted Cauliflower Soup, I tossed the florets with olive oil and salt, as well as a few stalks of celery and a quartered red onion.  I placed these on a baking pan along with a whole head of garlic, with the top sliced off, exposing each clove.  If you have never roasted garlic before, you are missing something savory and delicious.  The garlic becomes creamy and slightly nutty in flavor, much mellower  than when it is cooked by any other method.  Just rub the exposed part with olive oil and place face up on the pan.  Roast all the vegetables at 400 for about 30-40 minutes, checking from time to time.  The garlic may be done first, so remove it from the pan and set aside.

Fill a pot with a quart of chicken or vegetable stock, and two cups of water.  When the vegetables are roasted, add all to the pot , plus salt and pepper.  Squeeze the garlic out of its paper-like skin into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Turn off the fire, then go to work with the hand blender, pureeing to your desired consistency.  I like it a bit chunkier, but you can make it as smooth as you wish.  Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.

One thing I learned about preparing soup is that you can change its "personality"  by adding or omitting just one ingredient.  This can help you alter your menu to suit individual tastes as well as varying your repertoire to avoid boredom!  For instance, you can leave out the roasted garlic in this soup and it will still be delicious, but very different.  You can replace the cauliflower with broccoli and it becomes an entirely different soup, practically crying out for a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese at the end of cooking.  Add a chopped fresh herb to a vegetable soup and it changes the soup completely.  For example, cilantro will add Latin overtones to your soup, while oregano or basil will give the same soup a Mediterranean flavor.  Have fun and experiment, remembering that it is nearly impossible to ruin a pot of soup!