Cauliflower Soup

I've been on a big cauliflower kick lately.  See my previously posted cauliflower gratin recipe for a different dinner side dish.  When it comes to soups, cream of broccoli is favorite.  What I like about this cauliflower recipe is that is has a lot of taste, the same creamy consistency, but no dairy unless you add the optional handful of cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4lb cauliflower florets (either frozen and thawed, or fresh)
• 4 quartered garlic cloves
• olive oil
• crushed red pepper
• 1/2c diced yellow or white onion
• 1/4c diced celery
• 3c vegetable broth or chicken broth
• italian seasoning, salt and pepper
• optional garnishes: 1/3c cheddar and/or croutons

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the cauliflower on a foil-lined baking sheet along with the garlic.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with crushed red pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes.
2. In a soup pot, cook the onion and celery in olive oil for 5 min.  Add the roasted cauliflower and garlic, 3c of broth, some italian seasoning and some salt & pepper.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
3. Puree the soup and add back to the pot (or if you have an immersion blender, this is basically what they were invented for!).  Adjust seasoning as needed and if you're going to add the cheese, do it now.  Stir and cook on low until the cheese has melted.
4. Garnish with croutons if desired.

I had some leftover croutons so I threw those on top for the added crunch factor.  This recipe is great because while it does take about an hour to cook, most of that time is inactive.