Blenders and Cauliflower? Delicious and Healthy? Can it be???

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower, perhaps one of my least favorite veggies growing up gets a much needed makeover in this velvety soup. For all my friends in college this a great recipe for you.Use your blender to puree this soup. I know it’s shocking; it can be used for something besides Margaritas and Mudslides. This is a great go to meal while cramming for exams.

Growing up I used to dread seeing the white brainy looking mass on the dinner plates. I come from a family of great cooks, but none of them ever got it right with Cauliflower. I am not sure why this black sheep (or white rather) of the cabbage and broccoli family seems to perplex even some of the most seasoned home cooks and chefs. Loaded with Vitamin C, low fat, and produces anti-cancer compounds, why is it that most of us only want to drown it in Ranch dip at parties or smother it in Day-Glo cheese sauces?

My head instructor in Culinary School shared one of his favorite cauliflower recipes with me. The dish was composed of steamed cauliflower, herbs, salt and pepper, chopped hard boiled egg and bread crumbs. Beautiful and slightly aromatic the Cauliflower Polonaise was a hit in the dinning room that afternoon. But I didn’t care for it. The dish was composed beautifully and well seasoned; for me it just lacked pizzazz, wow factor, intensity,vigor,….. You get the point. But wait! What if we pureed this sans the egg, incorporated a rich stock and finished it with cream. Then we may have something.

With Speedo season right around the corner I’m looking for ways to cut calories where I can. What is great about this soup is that its texture is similar to one of my favorite soups, Cream of Potato. It is high in fiber and the addition of evaporated milk instead of cream gives it that silky creamy taste, but with less fat and for less money. I already had the dried spices in my cabinet, so I only spent $4.73 on everything Yields 4 servings

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

1 lb fresh or frozen cauliflower florets
2 stalks celery diced
½ onion diced
1 Tbs butter or olive oil
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp garlic powder
1 cup chicken broth
12oz can Evaporated milk

Place butter or oil in a large pot and heat over a medium – high heat.
Sauté cauliflower, onion and celery until onion and celery are translucent.
Stir in thyme and garlic powder. Pour in broth and evaporated milk, simmer for 10- 15 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, transfer mixture to blender and puree until smooth. Return soup back to pan, place over heat and simmer until soup is thickened until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes/ Tips: To avoid fractures in your appliance, make sure that your blender can withstand high temperatures before transferring the soup. This soup is great with any sort of garnishes on top: chopped scallions, bacon bits, shredded cheese, ect. I used some thyme and coarse black pepper for mine.