Sunday Soup: Curried Cauliflower Soup

This one was a hit - Joe took one bite and uttered a resounding "mmm!" He then stated that this soup was one of his favorites.  Nice.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 large-ish cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
about 3 tbsp curry powder
1 head cauliflower, florets roughly chopped
4-5 red skinned potatoes, chopped
4 cups chicken broth (ideally low-sodium)
low-fat/non-fat greek yogurt
lemons
Salt and pepper

In a large saucepan (I used my larger Le Creuset, maybe 5 qt?  I don't really know), add enough olive oil to cover the bottom, heat until shimmering. Add the onions, cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute. Add the curry powder. If you're worried about the mixture being too dry (I was, since the powder seemed to soak up all of the oil), add a little more oil. Cook for a minute or so, until the curry powder is nice and fragrant (don't let it burn). I realized at this point that I wasn't ready to add the rest of the ingredients (I hadn't chopped the veggies yet), so I took the soup off of the heat until I was ready.

Add the cauliflower, potatoes, broth, and enough water to cover the veggies. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the veggies are fork-tender. If you have an immersion blender (I do!  Thanks, Joe! Thanks, Costco!) use it to carefully puree the soup in the pot (you can leave some chunks for texture, which is what I should have done).  If you don't have one, use a food processor or blender; just work in batches and be careful, the soup is hot!

Taste, and season with salt if needed.  I didn't need any, since I did not use low-sodium chicken broth (plus the soup tasted flavorful enough. You only want to add salt to enhance the flavors in the dish, not to taste the actual salt.)

To serve, ladle into bowls and add a dollop of yogurt (using greek yogurt is great since it's thick and creamy without having a lot of fat) and a squeeze of lemon juice. This is key. Do not skip these ingredients. I firmly believe that the yogurt and lemon were directly responsible for Joe's "Mmm!" response. Crack some fresh pepper over it.  We think it would be good with some chopped, toasted walnuts as well. And, as always, you could add some chopped, crisp-cooked bacon (but we're partial to bacon. And Bacon.)

I served this soup with one of my favorite salads: arugula with a drizzle of olive oil,  a squeeze of lemon, a little salt, and a crank or two of freshly cracked pepper. It rounded out the meal very nicely.

Enjoy, and have a good week!