nutrition. Arrange florets evenly in a
steamer basket, making sure the water
doesn’t seep into the bottom of the basket.
Cover and steam for about 5 minutes,
depending upon your steaming setup.
Florets should be tender but not overly
soft.
Microwaving is the method that pre-
serves the most nutrients, and it’s easy!
Just put cauliflower in an inch or so of
water in a microwave safe dish. Cover
tightly and microwave 5 to 7 minutes.
Because of its shape and taste, raw
cauliflower florets make wonderful cru-
dité for dipping in sauces. If serving raw,
briefly soak the trimmed florets in water
with lemon juice to keep them white and
slightly tenderized.
Good partners for cauliflower include
strongly flavored herbs and spices like gar-
lic, red pepper flakes, paprika, curry, pars-
ley, saffron and tarragon. Stronger cheeses,
like cheddar, parmesan, gruyere, and blue
cheese are good counterpoints to cauli-
flower’s mild, but notable flavor. Greens
with strong flavor, sun-dried tomatoes,
green olives…the list goes on! Bold sauces
include salsa verde, garlic aioli, Romesco
sauce, spicy tomato and curry sauce. And
of course, butter.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Cauliflower is high in soluble fiber,
which means it will break down fully
during cooking. For this reason, cauli-
flower can be easily pureed into a silky
smooth, creamy soup, without the addi-
tion of a lot of cream, butter and cheese!
This recipe uses roasted cauliflower to
give the soup a deeper, nuttier flavor.
I used some butter in this recipe but if
you want to go totally plant based, you
can use cashew butter or one of the
many plant butters available.
1 large head cauliflower, about 2 lbs.
cut into bite size florets
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp minced chives or parsley,
for garnish
Salt and Pepper
86
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line
a baking sheet with parchment. In a
bowl, toss cauliflower with oil and
season with salt and pepper. Mix to
evenly coat cauliflower then arrange in
a single layer on baking sheet. Roast
for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway
through, until cauliflower is golden
brown. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or
similar pot, sauté onion in remaining 2
T. olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant,
then add broth.
Pick out a few roasted florets for
garnish. Add the rest of the roasted
florets to the soup pot. Increase heat to
medium high and bring soup to a gen-
tle boil. Reduce to medium and sim-
mer for about 20 minutes. Cauliflower
should be very soft. Add butter and
about ¼ tsp salt.
Cool soup slightly then transfer to a
blender, working in batches if needed,
and blend until smooth. Adjust salt,
pepper and lemon juice as needed to
suit your taste.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SPRING 2020
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
with Tomatoes and Olives
gmhtoday.com