always room for soup

Sundays, are soup days. At home, Sunday is a big cooking day for my mom. Sunday is the one day of the week that she can cook all day long, and be (mostly) uninterrupted. Growing up, cooking with my mom was (and still is) something that I loved. One thing that is almost always on my mom's cooking list on Sundays, is soup. I have to say, my mom makes pretty kick ass soup. While growing up I was partial to her chicken soup with matzo balls, as I grew up I learned that my mom was a lady of many talents, as she whipped up delicious butternut squash soup, carrot ginger soup, split pea soup, chili, and more. 

These days, because lets be honest aren't we all turning into our mothers, I have adopted Sundays as my cooking day. Especially in the winter, it is the perfect day to stay inside, and making some delicious yummies for the upcoming week. I love making soup, and have to say that I now do it just the way my mom does it. Make a huge batch, put it in single serving size ziplock containers, and freeze all but one or two. Honestly, if you look in my freezer (or my family's at home) you'll find at least 8 containers of different kinds of frozen soup. It is the perfect last minute lunch to grab and defrost at work, or warm up quickly one night for dinner. 

This soup was inspired by one of my wonderful camp friends, who now lives in New York (so I get to see her a lot). She first made this for our friends when we all made shabbat dinner one Friday night at her apartment. I absolutely love cooking, and having dinner with my camp girls, who are some of my closest and most special friends.

Here's my take on her delicious soup --by slow roasting the veggies, and adding herbs and nutmeg, the layers of flavor in this simple soup are seriously awesome. 

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup

1 large head of cauliflower

7 cloves of garlic, peeled and whole

1/2 onion (sweet or yellow), chopped

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 cups vegetable broth

3 cups water

1 tbsp dill

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp bay leaf

beautifully roasted veggies

Preheat the over to 300 degrees

Give the Cauliflower a rough chop, removing all outside greenery, but keeping the stem (it is delicious roasted!)

Place the Cauliflower on a baking sheet with a baking sheet with the garlic and onion. Drizzle with olive oil

Roast for 1 hour and 45 min to 2 hours- roasting it a bit longer, and letting it brown will give the soup an even richer flavor

In a large pot over medium heat, bring broth and 2 cups of water to a slow boil, adding herbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and vegetables

Once the soup has reached a rolling boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for another 30-34 minutes (test cauliflower with a fork to see if it has reached a soft texture)

With an immersion blender (stick blender), puree soup until smooth (I like to leave a few chunks in there!)

Add any remaining spices (or salt to taste) and slowly add in last cup of water, if needed (depending on desired thickness)

 enjoy!!

Look at all those herbs, yum.

*Soup will stay well frozen. If you make a large pot and want to save some, place in freezable plastic containers until ready to eat. Day of, place in fridge to defrost. Once you're ready to eat, defrost in microwave or on the stove and enjoy