Cauliflower Soup

 

Golden cauliflower

Cauliflower is a blank palette for me.  With its mild flavor and pretty colors, it can be used in a variety of ways.  It is delicious roasted with garlic, olive oil and herbs, or mashed and mixed in with potatoes for a light gratin.  Last evening featured a quick and easy-to-make soup using cauliflower in the refrigerator that needed to be used up. 


The key with mild vegetable soups are the toppings.  In this case I added sautéed shallots for a vegan version, and sautéed bacon for those with heartier appetites.



Servings:  4
Prep and cook time:  25 minutes



3 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup vegetable broth
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices bacon, cut into small squares and cooked (for the non-vegans), optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the florets and stems into even-sized pieces.  Simply cut out and discard any
dark spots on the cauliflower.

Boil the cauliflower in a large pot until tender.  Drain.

While the cauliflower is cooking, saute the shallots in the olive oil and cook the bacon if using.

Place drained cauliflower in a blender and add half the broth.  Blend and add more broth as needed until you reach a creamy consistency.  You need not add all the broth.  Note that because this is a broth-based soup, as opposed to cream, it will be thinner.  Season to taste.  Pour into small bowls or mugs and add the toppings.


Stir the shallots into the soup so that each yummy bite captures their flavor.

Each bite of soup with shallots and bacon is divine.

Each serving of soup offers approximately 100 calories and about 75% of the daily requirement of vitamin C.

- Kim Fielding

White Beans with Bacon

Our same white bean recipe with a little added bonus!

In our previous post, I outlined the basics of making white beans.  To jazz them up for a second or third meal, we add bacon and shallots to this version.  Granted there are already onions in the basic recipe, they melt away during cooking for the most part.

Serves:  8
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  20 minutes

4 cups pre-cooked white beans
4 slabs bacon, preferably organic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped

Cook the bacon and set aside.  Keep the residual fat in the pan.

Pat as much grease off as possible.

In the same skillet, add the chopped shallots and cook in the bacon fat. 

Sautee until tender and slightly golden.

Add cooked bacon and shallots to 4 cups Basic White Beans.  Voila!  That is it.

Nutritionally speaking, bacon adds sodium and fat to the recipe so if you are salt-sensitive, forgo this recipe.  Flavor-wise, this is a yummy way to extend the beans and adds more protein to make a meal.  Left-over vegetables may be added such as cooked chopped zucchini, peppers, fennel, eggplant, root vegetables, and tomatoes to name a few.  Use what is fresh and in season.   Per serving, bacon adds about 40 calories to the Basic White Bean Recipe. 

Don't waste food.  Beans act as a wonderful camoflage for using up left-over veggies.

- Kim Fielding