Rosemary Cauliflower Soup

Get ready to die, as in “this is to die for!”  A BIG thank you to Béatrice Peltre, the author of La Tartine Gourmande.  I am not even going to post the recipe ingredients or procedure here,  just the link to the details.  If you love to cook, you should check out her blog!

Rosemary Cauliflower Soup.  Just click the name to go to the recipe.

This soup is exquisite enough for company or a very special romantic dinner for two.  It is also quite suitable as the main course or vegetable of a quick weekday meal.  Truly a winner.

The total prep and cooking time is not much over an hour,  with more cooking than prep going on, leaving plenty of time to prepare and/or cook  the rest of the meal, whether it be something along the line of the rosemary chicken leg quarters I paired with my first batch, or perhaps just some substantial  crusty bread and a light dessert.

Here are a few pictures of my first time making this soup, followed by the results of my 2nd go-round when I used a homemade but not recipe-specific vegetable broth and a combination, about 1/2 each, of broccoli and cauliflower.

This made a most wonderful broth or stock.  And, even for those who think they don’t like fennel, you won’t dislike this.  The fennel adds depth without contributing a specifically “fennel” taste.

Just a picture showing the amounts/proportions.  Of  course, for soups, casseroles, and the like, proportions are not as crucial as they are when baking.

Shallots add such a nice color to things, along with a smoother texture than most types of  onions provide.

It is time to add the broth when the bottom is getting a bit browned.

This is the last picture I took when making this soup for the first time.  I am hoping to remember to take a picture after finishing up my second batch, which I have been making as I FINALLY write up and post this recipe on my blog!  Of course, it will look different, since I used half broccoli…

Well, here is the picture:

Well, it looks pretty and all, but…no way as good as when I followed the original recipe.  FYI, I had lots of both leftover broccoli and cauliflower florets from the veggie tray we did for the Wakefield UU Church auction last week, which is why I used both veggies.  Here is my take:

I added the requisite chopped fresh parsley (about a HEAPING tablespoon) salt (1 tsp) black pepper (1/2 tsp freshly ground) after adding a tsp of salt, and “dash” of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp freshly grated) PLUS a tsp of coriander power to make up for not using the original vegetable broth recipe and…certainly pleasant and edible, but NOT to die for.  To live forso as  to enjoy, yes, but NOT the great shakes of the original recipe.    …  Okay, I am letting it stay at just below a simmer on the stove for a bit.  Then I will see if I can fix it up a bit….  1/2 an hour or so later…

Hey!  It’s very good after some low temp simmering, beyond the just “pleasant” flavor.  Yes, the broccoli is too strong for this recipe as to getting the exquisite results obtained from the original version using just cauliflower. But, I really like that this is a “creamy” soup that does not use dairy for that special texture.  Nothing against dairy from me, but it is nice to have a way to prepare a veggie dish or soup that has a comfort food taste and texture without the usual comfort food fat and calories – or lactose tolerance issues.

Anyway – this recipe is a keeper for me, in both the original and experimental formats.