Warms My Soul

After gorging myself with loads of rich and heavy holiday food, i have decided to keep it simple for the next couple weeks. I found this recipe on About.com and it was exactly what i needed. I made mine slightly chunky (than the one pictured)for texture and heartyness. Its vegetarian, healthy, and delicious served with a loaf of crusty french bread.

Purée of Cauliflower Soup Recipe
By Danilo Alfaro, About.com
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh cauliflower, outer leaves removed
1 medium Russet (or other starchy) potato
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
1 qt vegetable broth or stock
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Cut cauliflower into (roughly) same-sized pieces, about ½ inch to 1 inch thick, depending on diameter. Don't worry about precision -- the soup is going to be puréed anyway. We just want the pieces to be of uniform size so that they cook evenly.

Peel the potato and cut it into pieces about the same size as the cauliflower.

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat the butter over a low-to-medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic and cauliflower and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is slightly translucent, stirring more or less continuously.

Add the wine and cook for another minute or two or until the wine seems to have reduced by about half.

Add the stock and the potato. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower and potatoes are soft enough that they can easily be pierced with a knife. Don't let them get mushy, though.

Remove from heat and purée in a blender, working in batches if necessary.

Tip: Use care when processing hot items in a blender as the hot steam can sometimes blow the blender lid off. Start on a slow speed with the lid slightly ajar to vent any steam, then seal the lid and increase the blending speed.

Return puréed soup to pot and bring to a simmer again, adding more broth or stock to adjust the thickness if necessary.

Season to taste with Kosher salt and white pepper.

Garnish with a toasted crouton and serve right away.
Makes about 1½ quarts (6 8-oz. servings) of soup.