Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Summer is most definitely my favorite season. No doubt about it. But every year a small part of me aches for cool winter temperatures. Why? One word: soup. I just don't understand why it's less acceptable to eat soup in summer than it is in winter? It tastes delicious year round! Sure, it's hot food, but then again, so are hotdogs, burgers, and baked beans, and those are traditional American summer foods. Hmmm...

Anyway, although I've never been a "rule breaker" when we had a few cooler days last week, I wasted no time. This cauliflower soup is so simple, yet so yum. There are no chunks, if that bothers you, add some extra steamed cauliflower after blending. 

{excuse my chipped nail polish}

So if your like to break rules, if you like soup, or if you get a blast of cooler weather, be sure to put this on your to do list. 

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

2 tbsp. butter

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 cup rice, uncooked

6 cups chicken broth

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 head cauliflower, chopped

2 c. unsweetened milk of choice (I used cows' milk)

1. In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, melt the butter, then add the onions, cooking them until they become translucent. Add rice and 4 cups of the broth and heat them until they boil. After reducing heat, simmer for 20 minutes. Add the salt and pepper before pureeing.
2. Steam the cauliflower in one inch of water until slightly tender. Remove the cauliflower, but leave the water to reduce to less than one cup.
3. Puree the cauliflower and the reduced cauliflower water, adding a little of the already pureed soup base, if necessary.
4. Mix the soup base and the pureed cauliflower in the saucepan. Then add the extra broth and milk. Heat through, adding any extra salt and pepper if needed.

This keeps about a week in the fridge.

optional: Add some larger chunks of  steamed cauliflower to the finished soup if the lack of chunks bothers you. I rarely do this.

Enjoy!

~Danielle