Cauliflower Soup Seasoned with Medium Hot Curry

 I saw this on the Harvard Public Health site. It is really good advice:

Forget calories and focus on food quality. Let your body do the rest. . . . Any weight-loss approach that involves deprivation wears you down, psychologically and biologically. Give your body what it needs and it will reward you. Work with, rather than against, your body. (edited version)

Ingredients

1 lb. cauliflower
400 ml of 1% milk
1/4 teaspoon of medium hot curry powder
2 quarter-inch thick large slices of red onion
9 oven-roasted garlic cloves
a sprinkle of dry tarragon
a sprinkle of chopped or crumbled feta
salt and pepper to taste

I love making soup using cauliflower as the base. Cauliflower makes a thick, smooth soup but without adding fat-heavy cream. I used 1% milk for this soup but often I use low sodium chicken stock in the box. In these cases, I use no milk at all.

Put a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and fry the red onion until it is translucent. Don't be cheap with the olive oil. We all need some fat and olive oil is one of the good guys. With the onion translucent, add the cauliflower and milk. Simmer until the cauliflower is soft. This may take about twenty minutes. Take care not to boil. When the cauliflower is done, add the medium hot curry and the oven-roasted garlic cloves.

Using an immersion hand blender, mix the cauliflower, garlic, curry and milk until thick, creamy and smooth. If necessary, turn up the heat under the pot for a few seconds to bring the soup to serving temperature. Spoon into bowls, add a sprinkle of dry tarragon and some crumbled feta cheese, and serve.

Time-saving tip

A small, grocery store near my London, Ontario, home has oven-roasted garlic in the antipasto bar. I used this in my soup. It saved me from having to roast my own garlic. Roasting the cloves isn't difficult but it does add another step to the prep time. Look for oven-roasted garlic cloves in a grocery store near you. Maybe you will get lucky.

Equipment tip

Many sources claim the Breville BSB510XL Control Grip Immersion Blender is one of the best. I found it available at Best Buy on sale for a hundred bucks. Regularly it sells for $120. If you don't have an immersion blender, the Breville is worth a look.