Who Says They Don’t Like Cauliflower: Roasted Cauliflower and Poblano Pepper Soup
By: Veggie Chica
Published: Wednesday, December 25, 2013 - 10:05pm

Ingredients




-2 tablespoons of oil or cooking spray;
- 1 head of cauliflower;
-2 garlic cloves, peeled;
-1 7oz. can of roasted poblano pepper, reserve 2 teaspoons for garnish;
-  1 cup of milk;
- ½ cup of half and half;
- ½ cup of vegetable stock;
- ¼ teaspoon of chile powder
-salt and pepper, to taste;

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2 Wash and cut cauliflower into medium-sized florets. 3 Toss florets and garlic cloves with oil and place on a foil-lined (trust me) baking sheet making sure to spread cauliflower out evenly. 4 Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes turning cauliflower over about half-way through.  Keep an eye on the garlic.  Depending on the size of the cloves the garlic can be done before the cauliflower reaches its full yumminess potential. 5 Remove the cauliflower from the oven when the florets are soft and a rich deep caramel color has developed. 6 Let cool for 5 minutes and resist from snacking on all the cauliflower. 7 Next, using a food processor or blender, puree the cauliflower, garlic, poblano peppers, milk, half and half and vegetable stock until desired consistency (I like mine on the chunky side).  This may have to be done in batches depending on the size of the cup of the food processor or blender. 8 Pour pureed soup into a stockpot and heat through adding salt, pepper and chile powder to taste.  Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding more milk or stock. 9 Garnish with reserved poblano peppers.

About

Growing up one of the soups my mom used to make was a creamy cauliflower soup.  It was good-but not great.  It was one-noted and lacked texture.  So about a year ago I decided to play around with it and came up with a roasted cauliflower soup.  If you think you do not like cauliflower try roasting it.  Cauliflower, a vegetable that is pretty bland (yet tasty) when raw, transforms into this sweet, yet nutty, tender piece of heaven.  Just cauliflower and little oil can create a masterpiece.  The addition of the poblano infuses a great tang to the soup, keeping this cauliflower soup from becoming just another bland, boring bowl of mush.