Cauliflower and Cannellini Soup

Nicole (Sweetie Pie) at Just Sweet Enough posted a cauliflower and cannellini soup last week I knew I'd have to add to my recipe binder and try. I added some needed ingredients to the shopping list and planned on making it later this week. But, since I forgot to thaw meat for Monday's dinner, it jumped ahead on the schedule.

At first I thought it might be too hot to do a soup, since we had a pretty warm day on Monday, in the 60s and sunny. I had the windows open and was enjoying thebreak from winter weather all day. But I read Sweetie Pie's post and she had nice weather on the day she ate her soup, so I thought I'd go for it, too!

The lemon juice she added was the perfect, bright punch in the background to keep this from being heavy. In a million years, I would never have thought to add lemon juice to this soup - but it was the touch it needed! The ingredient list and directions are Sweetie Pie's.

nonstick cooking spray
1 medium sized head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium sized carrot, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
4 cups of broth (chicken or veggie)
2 cups of water
juice of half a lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1 19 ounce can of Cannellini Beans with the liquid
1 cup of 1% lowfat cottage cheese
Salt to taste
Fresh dill for garnish

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place the cauliflower on the baking sheet and spray the cauliflower with cooking spray. Roast in the 475 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Spray a large pot with cooking spray and heat on medium high. When the pot is hot, add the onions, garlic and carrot. Saute for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped dill and saute for an additional minute. Add the broth, cauliflower, water, lemon juice and beans (with the bean liquid) to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in small batches in a blender or food processor incorporating half of the cottage cheese in the first batch and the other half in the second. Continue processing the soup until it has all been pureed. Return the processed soup to the pot, stir well and heat through (about a minute). Add salt to taste. I added 3/4 tsp., but the broth I used was reduced sodium. The bean juice adds some salt too, so I’d just give it a little taste and adjust it to your liking. Garnish each bowl with a sprig of fresh dill if desired.

I made the recipe as written, except I substituted oregano and basil in place of the dill, since I didn't have any on hand. I also blended using my immersion blender, so I think the consistency was a little grittier than if I'd blended it in a food processesor, like she did. We had the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich and it was a nice, quick dinner!


**Don't forget - 4 days left to submit those BSI entries to christina at dinneratchristinas dot com!**