Roasted Cauliflower Bisque

Yum! This soup is thick and creamy with the comforting yet enticing flavors of roasted cauliflower. The roasting process brings out a deeper flavor with hints of sweetness that perfectly lightens while making the normally quiet flavors of cauliflower more complex. It's a warming soup that will keep you happy as these spring evenings remain cool outside.

I paired the soup with cous cous and some freshly grilled salmon, but it is versatile enough to go with a wide variety of meals. In fact, you could even make it as stand alone vegetarian dinner, perhaps paired with some nice, fresh, crusty bread for dipping. It'll also make wonderful leftovers for lunch all week, easily re-heated at work, so make extra.

Time: 1 hr 25 min
Difficulty: medium-easy



Roasted Cauliflower Bisque
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp fake butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 c sweet onion, diced
4 c vegetable broth, unsalted
1/2 c fat free half and half

Get your oven pre-heating to 450 degrees.

Cut your cauliflower into florets and put in a glass baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and toss. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. The cauliflower should be tender and lightly browned at this point.

Get a large pot heating on your stove over medium heat. Add the fake butter, letting it melt and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for about 4-5 minutes, stirring to keep from burning or sticking. Add the roasted cauliflower stock, 1 cup of water, and the vegetable broth. Stir well and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. Continue to stir occasionally.

After the 20 minutes, add the fat free half and half. Stir well and let it heat for another 2-3 minutes.

Pour about half the soup (or more if it fits) into a blender. Remove the center piece of the lid and replace it with a paper towel to let steam escape. Blend until the soup is smooth and pour into a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the soup. Stir well to incorporate your blended portions of soup and then enjoy immediately.

Servings: 4
Serving size: about 1.5 c
Nutrition: calories 129; carbs 14g; fat 4g; protein 6g; sodium 96mg; iron 4mg