Cauliflower Bisque (Love Soup, by Anna Thomas)

What a glorious soup! Truly, perhaps the best soup we have ever eaten! The color was magnificent. These photos really don’t capture the delicate creamy yellow that was the end result of cauliflower and carrot gently cooked and then blended. I wondered if the method of sautéing the carrot and celery before adding them to the cauliflower-broth mixture would really make a difference, but I don’t think I would change a single thing about this recipe. Follow the method to the letter and you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what you need:

1 large white cauliflower, trimmed and cut in small pieces

4 C LIGHT colored vegetable broth

2 C water

1 lemon, cut large strips of peel off (don’t cut into the white pithy part) and then squeeze

1 ½ t sea salt

2 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut in pieces

2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and cut in pieces

1 large sweet onion, peeled, trimmed and diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 t herbes de Provence (a MUST for this recipe!)

2-3 ounces cream cheese

Garnish – buttered bread crumbs

1 C freshly made soft bread crumbs

2 T non-dairy butter

Here’s what you do:

Heat the oil and saute the carrot, celery, onion, and salt until soft and beginning to brown on the edges. Add the garlic and herbes de Provence and cook for another minute until very fragrant. Never brown your garlic, so maintain a gentle heat.

In the meantime: 

Simmer the cauliflower in the water and broth. Also add in two large pieces of the lemon peel. Again, be careful not to cut into the white pith. Add 2 T of the lemon juice. This should simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. After that, remove the lemon peel.

Add the carrot mixture to the soup pot and continue to simmer, covered,  for another 15 minutes or so.

Next, add the cream cheese and allow to melt into the soup.

When the soup has cooled a bit, blend until very smooth. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if needed.

To make the buttered bread crumbs:

Place large chunks of day old bread in a food processor and create crumbs – not too small, but not too big.

Saute the crumbs in the melted butter until nice and toasted. Store flat on a baking sheet or place until ready to use.  

Butternut and Apple Soup

A new year is upon us and that’s a good thing. I love a new start. Yes, I love Mondays. I love new novels and new shoes. I love new haircuts. I love to taste a new wine or to eat at a new restaurant. I just purchased new drinking glasses and, honestly, I feel like singing!

Adding an apple to a squash soup was new to me…..and I loved it. Be forewarned, this soup is not like other squash soups you may be familiar with. There’s no brown sugar, no nutmeg, no curry…just that apple. And that’s enough.

Here’s what you need:

2 C cubed butternut squash

2 leeks, sliced and washed thoroughly

1 medium onion, diced

1 russet potato, peeled and cubed

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cubed

1 quart vegetable broth

Here’s what you do:

Throw it in a soup pot, simmer for about 30 minutes, allow to cool a bit, blend.

I guess I could have added a garnish, but , whatever….. I am actually sipping a cup of this soup as I write this post….no time for parsley.