Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

I would not be exaggerating if I told you I've been eating a bowl of soup nearly every day since the new year. I can barely stand the thought of it in the summer but, these days, it's cold around here. Windy and snowy and overcast. Ugh. I want so badly for spring to come. But, till then, I need my soup!

For as much as we love cauliflower, I'd never had it in soup before. The thought hadn't even really occurred to me. But in looking up soup ideas, I found plenty of references to cauliflower soup. My concern was that the vegetable would have to be cooked all the way through in liquid and might produce that rotten egg smell that overcooked members of the cabbage family can get. But, my fears were unfounded. Simmering slowly in chicken stock, it never developed any unpleasant odor. Far from it, in fact. My house smelled like delicious, homey, freshly made soup.

Brian and I tend to keep the food pretty informal on Sundays. So, I made a big pot of this soup and left it covered on the stove. Sure enough, a little while later I saw Brian at the computer with a bowl of it. I settled down on the couch near him with my book and watched him go back for seconds and thirds. Really yummy, he told me. And, I totally agree. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Onion, peeled and diced
1 Clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1 Head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
1 Baking potato, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
3 - 4 cans (14 oz. each) low fat, low sodium chicken stock
1 Cup low fat milk
1 Cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 Tablespoons chives or scallions, chopped
1/2 Teaspoon curry powder (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Add the butter, onion and garlic to a Dutch oven or other large stock pot and cook on medium low heat for approximately 15 minutes or until the onions are translucent but not browned. Whisk in the flour and slowly whisk in the chicken stock. Add the potato and cauliflower, bring to a boil, cover and cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the potatoes and the cauliflower are fork tender.

Working in batches, add the soup to a blender or food processor and puree. Be careful not to overfill or the hot liquid will leak out of the blender. You can puree all the soup or leave it as chunky as you like. Place the soup back in the stock pot and turn the heat to medium. Add the chives, milk and cheese and season with the curry powder, salt and pepper. Serve hot and garnish with additional cheese and croutons, if desired. Makes approximately 8 servings.