Roasted Cauliflower Soup

{Meatless Monday}

The other day I was going through some old recipes I had pulled out of magazines, but never gotten around to making.  I had actually saved one page for a French Onion soup recipe, but then I saw the recipe for this soup and it looked really yummy and it said it was "Low Cal"...so I put it on my menu and I'm so glad I did.

I just have to say that roasting vegetables is amazing!!  It completely transforms the flavor.  In fact, I am thinking I am going to have to roast me up some Brussel sprouts because then they might actually taste good!!  ; )

I also loved this recipe because it is very simple.  There are not a lot of ingredients and I actually used Fat-Free Half and Half, so it was even MORE Low-Cal and also low-fat, since the only fat was from a little olive oil...and that's the good kind, anyway, right??

Here's what you'll need:

1 large head cauliflower (3 pounds) cut into florets
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, each halved (I just used 2 tsp. minced garlic from my fridge)
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth (I just used about 3 1/2 cups of bouillon)
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. chopped thyme
1 cup half and half (I used Fat-Free, though I wish they just sold a reduced fat...maybe mixing the regular with the Fat-free would be perfect for me!)

Heat oven to 400*.  In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, onion slices, and garlic with olive oil.  Sprinkle on salt and pepper.  Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

In large saucepan, combine veggies with chicken broth, water, bay leaf, and thyme.  Cover and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Discard bay leaf and using blender, puree soup in batches.  Return to pan and stir in half and half.  Cook over medium heat until heated through...about 5 minutes.  Serve with fresh chives on top.

I served this with some homemade rolls.  Everybody ate the soup...not everyone LOVED it, but with the help of a roll everybody ate their portion.  My daughter and I both loved it.  In fact, when she left for school this morning, I made sure she was OK with me eating the leftovers for my lunch.
I made a double batch of rolls, because tonight we are trying another new recipe for Southern-Style Vegetable Sliders.  We'll see how they turn out and I'll let you know next week! ; )

What I love about the soup is how much flavor came from the roasted cauliflower and onions and also how CREAMY it is with VERY little fat and cream in there!

For your information:  using regular Half and Half, it says that there are 98 calories per serving (this makes 8 servings) and 9 g fat.  But I figured out using Fat Free, you would save about 20 calories and 4 g fat per serving.  That makes it an extremely healthy soup...and it is SO yummy.

My husband doesn't even like cauliflower...actually, he dislikes it...and he still liked the soup.


Hope you love it as much as I do!!