Roasted Cauliflower & Cheddar Soup

 

Roasted Cauliflower & Cheddar Soup

I had my wisdom teeth taken out on Wednesday, and I am still struggling with food that I can comfortably eat. I've been eating too much apple sauce and jello, and have attempted to eat pasta twice, but to no avail. I knew this would be tough, but I don't think I mentally prepared myself for what the surgery recovery would look like. It involves a lot of medicine management, a lot of water, and a lot of patience. AND a lot of sleep! 

My dad drove me back home to SF yesterday, and I knew I had to hit the grocery store, since I haven't been home a lot recently. I had no food in the apartment, and knew I needed to have a few things for the next couple of days for my recovery. When thinking of soft foods, obviously soup comes to mind. Even though it's summer, it sounded good to me and sounded like something I would be able to manage. 

While browsing the internet, I came across this recipe. It is from the blog Two Peas and Their Pod. It looked easy enough, and looked like it would have great flavor, without irritating my mouth. It was delicious.

Ingredients:

1 ( 1 1/2 pound ) head of cauliflower, cut into florets
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used low sodium chicken broth, to add flavor)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 avocados for a garnish (this isn't in the recipe, but thought it would be a good topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and garlic cloves in the olive oil until well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place on a large baking sheet, in a single layer. Roast the cauliflower until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. Set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and celery and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Chop up the roasted garlic. Add the garlic, roasted cauliflower, vegetable broth, thyme, and rosemary and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers, and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 20-25 minutes.

4.  Using an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender or food processor), blend the soup until smooth. Add the cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve warm. The original recipe calls for croutons to be served with the soup, but obviously I will be sitting those out this time.