Its Cauliflower Season in California, or Somewhere Else Not Montana

Creamy Cauliflower and Parmesan Soup

This thing, I used to hate this thing.

Snow yesterday and rain this morning inspired me to think south instead of thinking local, sorry Montana. Right now, cauliflower is in season down south, and its a food my husband and I love, and my children as well, incognito. Today for lunch I used my "boat motor" aka immersion blender and creamed up a yummy soup for the rainy weather.

King Louis XIV of France prized cauliflower. As a kid I hated it because I believe I recall eating it boiled, from frozen form, and it smelled and tasted like feet. Any vegetable eaten this way is terrible, don't do that to your veggies. Cauliflower is full of vitamin C, essential for tissue repair. 

Here is how I made it for lunch for my kids and my husband to enjoy:

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower (fresh not frozen)

1/2 head of garlic, finely chopped (less if you are not a garlic fan)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 white onion

1 tablespoon butter

1 quart chicken stock (preferably homemade)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

Cut your head of cauliflower into individual florets and put in an oven safe roasting pan. Coat with the olive oil, salt and pepper and chopped garlic and roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, tossing every 3-4 minutes to promote even browning. As your cauliflower is browning, put your butter and onions into a stock pot and start sauteing at medium heat for the same amount of time to caramelize your onions. 

When your cauliflower is ready to come out of the oven, add your stock to the stock pot on the stove with your caramelized onions and then add your cauliflower, garlic, and goodness from the roasting pan. Simmer on medium high heat for 15 minutes until cauliflower falls apart when poked by a fork. Use your immersion blender to blend the soup pot contents when all is tender, then add your Parmesan and cream and blend again.

Yes, I used heavy cream. You don't have to, but cream is so good and flavorful. It is possible to use it when the rest of the sugary, gross and fatty things in life, like processed snack foods, etc., are out of your life.