Cauliflower Soup

I love cauliflower. This week at the farmer's market. I purchased the biggest cauliflower I have ever seen. I made my roommate take a picture, which I will post for you soon.

With this cauliflower, I used 1/3 of it to make the following wonderful soup for this cold, election day.

Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Food Network, also found on Smitten Kitchen)

What You Need
- 1 head cauliflower (or in my case, 1/3 of a massive cauliflower)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4)
- 1 quart vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (I used a bit less)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper

What You Do
1. Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic.
3. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and, here the recipe calls for blending (either with a hand held immersion blender or in small batches in a blender). However, I just used my potato smasher and mashed up the cauliflower. I like to have a little bit of varied texture to the soup and avoid having to clean the blender (I don't have a hand held blender). You can do it either way.
7. Add the Parmesan and stir.
8. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

Enjoy on a cold day! It warms your insides even while you are nervous about the election results.