Roast Cauliflower and Fennel Soup
It has been an absolutely beautiful Fall this year! The weather gradually turning to chill allowing the full flow of colors for the leaves to shade into. Rustling golden leaving blending into rich orange, then giving in to the deep hues of red and browns, all the while dancing to an intensely trance like tune of their own jammed with the whistling wind. Ah! It is a beautiful show, only nature can orchestrate to such perfection.
I recently went apple picking up in the Catskill mountains of New York. It was my first time ever in an orchard! Oh! what bliss. I have lovely photos to share and will do in the next post. For now, I wanted to leave you with a warming, flavorful Cauliflower and Fennel Soup to keep you nourished for the week!
This is the time for new potatoes and flowerlet vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. This soup works really well with either red or yellow potatoes and either cauliflower or broccoli. For vegans or even if you are not, this makes a great replacement to cream of broccoli soup. With all the rich creaminess of the latter, it packs home the full punch of vegetable strength without the distraction of the cream.
I really like serving this soup with pickled vegetables; the acidity breaking into the creaminess and awakening your palate. You can find the recipe for Rosemary and Garlic Preserved Zucchini here. I sprinkled raw red onion for its sharp tang. It will also go nicely with red onion pickled in lemon juice!
Roast Cauliflower and Fennel Soup
2 cups cauliflower flowerlets
1/2 head of fennel, sliced thin-ish
2 small potatoes, sliced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 cups of vegetable stock
olive oil, salt and pepper as needed
Spread the cauliflower, fennel, potato and rosemary on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over and season with salt and pepper.
Roast at 400 F for 30 minutes until soft. Remove and add to a pan with the vegetable stock and mustard.
Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.
Blend to a smooth puree in a blender. Adjust consistency, if too thick with hot stock. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve generous portions into bowls. Top with pickled vegetables and fresh herbs or crunchy herbs. I used shaved brussel sprouts here.
