December 6, 2012

ulterior motives

I would happily live a life of hermit-tude (you're never alone when you have a dog), but lately it seems a rarity to have a night in. Last saturday I totally wanted to chill and make this recipe from Food52 (an amazing culinary resource), but needed to get Brian on board first.

The conversation went something like this:

Rachel- What do you want to do tonight?
Brian - Not sure, what are you thinking?
R - Ummm, I'm open to whatever. (in my head I'm a very flexible person)
B - Uh huh. What do you really want to do?
R - Hmmm. Well......I was thinking staying in sounded fun.
B - .......
R - Also...how does Cauliflower Soup sound? Or anything else? (flexible x 2).
B - Rachel. You're not fooling anyone. 
And off to Whole Foods I went :) 

Photo © Rex Waters

Roasted Cauliflower Soup w/Chimichurri Sauce
(I followed the recipe pretty closely, and would tweak a few things if I made it again, including eliminating the creme fresh...here is my version)

1 head cauliflower, sliced, including core
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 leek, light green parts only, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 ribs celery, diced
1 tsp salt
2 cup broth of choice
2 cup water
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Chimichurri Sauce
2 serrano chilis, seeded (if you like a kick, leave some seeds in), coarsly chopped
1 garlic cloves, smashed (if you love the taste of garlic, do 2)
2 cups parsley leaves
6 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender and process until finely chopped. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Place cauliflower on a dry cookie sheet and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

3. In a large heavy pot, heat the butter and oil until hot. Saute the onion, garlic, and celery in the mixture until soft and very aromatic. Add salt & roasted cauliflower and toss with a spoon until caulflower is covered.
Cook another 2 minutes.

4. Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender (I like my soups with texture so blend with caution). Pour back into pot and reheat to a simmer. Add parmesan cheese & chimichurri sauce until well incorporated.

image © Pixar Animation Studios

The soup is really delicious, it tastes creamy because of the cauliflower & the chimichurri sauce brings an unexpected quality to it. With soup in hand and Sophie at our feet, we watched Up, a movie I somehow hadn't seen which has subsequently become a new favorite. In the end, this quote says it best:

"That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most"  - Russell (Up)


Also, many thanks to Daily Candy Chicago for featuring me in their 'Woman Behind the Blog' series...check out the post (and peruse the rest of their fabulous site) HERE.

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