I love fall. I love the crispness of the colors, the cool air that greets me in the morning and numerous varieties of apples and squash that show up at the farmers market. But I really love it because it means the start of soup season; during which, at least once a week, I make a huge pot of soup and invite an assortment of characters over to feast. It’s one of my most favorite traditions because it gives me a good excuse to tinker with soup recipes and to gather people in my home.
This last weekend saw the first of this fall’s soup nights come to our living room. I caught sight of some beautiful cauliflower at Reading Terminal which called out to be roasted to creamy sweet perfection. So, I snapped them up and began devising what I was going to do with them. Usually I go the curry route but, partially inspired by all the fresh herbs growing in our back porch, I decided to explore a new flavor direction. I snipped a little bit of everything out of our herb pots and set about experimenting with combinations. Fighting my inherent urge to avoid the expected I found myself leaning towards the classics: tarragon, sage, rosemary and bay leaf. Turns out they make great soup fellows with roasted cauliflower. While I may tinker slightly with this over the next few batches I invite you to give this a try. Let me know how it goes…
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
2 heads cauliflower, woody core and leaves removed
4 cloves garlic
3 Tbs olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp fresh tarragon
2 tsp rosemary, minced
1 tsp sage
1 bay leaf
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 425˚
2. Break the cauliflower into pieces and add the garlic then coat with a little olive oil and salt and spread in a 1″ deep baking sheet.
3. Add a little water to the baking sheet, enough to cover the bottom, and cover the entire thing with tin foil. Place in oven and let it roast for 1 hr or until the cauliflower is nice and tender.
4. Remove the tin foil and return to the oven to let the cauliflower brown. You may need to mix things up a few times to get a nice golden color on the batch.
5. While the cauliflower is roasting, heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once it glistens add the onion and let the onion sauté until it is transparent then turn the heat to low and add the last Tbs of olive oil and let the onion caramelize – about 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the stock to the onions and if the cauliflower is done then toss that in there too. If not let it simmer until the cauliflower is done then add it.
7. Once the cauliflower has been added then put the herbs in and bring to boil then reduce again to a simmer and let it sit for 25-30 minutes.
8. Finally, either whirr it with an immersion blender or, working in batches, transfer it to a food processor and puree until smooth.
Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and some shredded parmesan.