Celebratory Soup

My good friend Adele came over for dinner tonight. We were celebrating a big win of hers, and a wonderful achievement. On the menu:

Curried Cauliflower soup with Apple and Roasted Garlic Spread on Crostini.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Curried cauliflower soup is one of my favorite things to make. I make it quite often too, because it's fairly low-maintenance cooking. It involves three steps, well four, if you include eating: roast, simmer, puree. I was sneaky, and made this on Sunday afternoon. The good thing about this soup is that it freezes really well. I often have a batch in my freezer for impromptu gatherings such as this.

Here's how it goes:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 large onion, or 1 small, chunked
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock (low sodium is best)
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. curry powder
S&P to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cauliflower, onions and garlic in oil, S&P. Roast for approx 15-20 minutes, or until they get a crispy golden.

Toss them in a large pot. Add the chicken stock, water and curry powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for around 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft.

Transfer to blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Feel free to add some more water or stock if the soup is too thick. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Garnish with chopped apple, my fave is Cortland, and fresh cracked black pepper.

Although the thought of this soup makes me giddy, yes, GIDDY, I was much moreso at the thought of roasted garlic spread! I had never made this before, though I've seen it in numerous recipe books and cooking shows. Tonight though, I thought I'd try my hand at it.


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice the top off of a whole garlic bulb. Drizzle with olive oil and S&P. Wrap in tinfoil, and toss it in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until soft.

Oh the aroma of roasted garlic! Once it was done, we schmeared it on top of multi grain baguette that I had purchased from Staff of Life on Quinpoole. Trust me, they've got goooooooood bread.

Roasted Garlic Schmear
And there you have it- A gourmet spread, simple effort, all in record time.