Kitchen Report

Nothing beats a lunch of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for comfort food, especially when it snows in May.

When I woke up this morning on this second Saturday in May snowflakes were swirling and chasing each other to the ground. Snowflakes. In May. Is Mother Nature trying to keep us indoors during this time of quarantine and lockdown? It’s working.

With a high of 49 degrees F. for today it seemed like the perfect moment for homemade soup. I’ve been wanting to make a tomato soup that uses an entire head of cauliflower since a friend share her bowl on social media recently. Comfort and a healthy serving of veggies.

Through a recipe search Google I found an easy one from Brooklyn Farm Girl.

I love the smoky flavor from garlic in this recipe and the cauliflower makes an excellent thickener instead of using rice or bread. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes on hand but downstairs in the basement bunker I found 2 cans of whole tomatoes and 2 cans of diced tomatoes. I blended these together in my food processor with a few pulses and viola! I had just the right amount of tomato purée I needed.

I love Brooklyn Farm Girl’s suggestion to spoon out 1 cup of cauliflower before using your immersion blender, and then mixing it back into the final soup to add some texture.

Bon appétit!

Cauliflower tomato soup

2 tablespoons butter

2 scallions, finely diced

1/4 cup celery, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (or 2 14.5-ounce cans of whole tomatoes, and 2 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes)

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground black pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add scallions, celery, minced garlic and cauliflower and mix until slightly softened, about 10 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove 1 cup of cauliflower from soup and set aside.

Use a immersion blender and blend the soup until desired thickness. Add the 1 cup of cauliflower back into the pot and stir.

Serve and enjoy! Serves 6.