One of my tricks is to buy extra garlic and roast one up wether I need it for a recipe or not. Once it's on hand, it eases up the steps to making any number of dishes. I always ALWAYS recommend organic ingredients, but organic garlic is so much more flavorful in organic form. So with this soup, don't bend on that - and of course if possible, use organic cauliflower and fennel as well.
Ingredients
Cauliflower, One large head, broken up into florets, + about 1” of the stems.
Fennel, One large bulb, sliced into medium width rounds
Garlic, One, whole bulb
Vegetable or Chicken Broth, One and half boxes or 48 oz.
Goat Cream Cheese, 2 Ts
Goat Cheddar Cheese, ~ 1 ½ cup shredded.
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Please buy organic whenever possible!
Preparation
Prep the and roast the garlic. Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Cut a square of tin foil large enough to enfold around the head of garlic. Using a chef’s knife, slice off the very tip of the garlic and place the trimmed garlic in the center of the foil. Drizzle a bit of olive over the cut garlic tip, fold up the foil around the garlic bulb and place it in the oven or the toaster oven. (if you are using the oven – you will need both racks, place the garlic on the upper rack on an oven proof dish). Roast for 45 minutes or until the garlic bulb mushes a bit when pressed on (use a fork or spatula).
Prep the cauliflower and fennel. Using a large bowl - combine the cut-up cauliflower and fennel – drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper – toss to coat. Transfer to a sheet pan and roast (on the lower rack) for about 25 minutes or until the cauliflower and fennel fork easily. It’s just fine if there are some charred bits and pieces.
Once the veggies have all roasted place them in a stock pot. To extract the garlic – let it cool a bit first by unfolding the foil and letting it sit out for a few minutes. Then squeeze out the roasted garlic into the stock pot. Be sure to get it all out, some of those smaller cloves can slip out of reach J. ** I use kitchen gloves for this process, cuts the messy/sticky-ness in half. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Using a plunge blender or a countertop blender, blend the mixture until silky smooth. Add the goat cream and cheddar cheeses. Whisk the soup until the cheeses are blended in and then salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!