Good Soup Comes From A Messy Kitchen

Have you ever over-filled your blender or food processor, turned it on - and regretted everything about it? I had hot soup spewing all over the kitchen counter and my shirt. Awesome. But you know what? The soup tasted great and was something that is not all too familiar. I found a recipe called Spicy Cauliflower and Roasted Sunchoke Soup on a blog one day. I have been fascinated with Sunchokes ever since I saw them at our grocery store. I call them Broco-flower, some people call it Franko-chokes - regardless, it's a neon green cauliflower and creates conversation (can never pass something like that up). So here is my rendition of Claire's recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen.


Cauliflower and Roasted Broco-Flower Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil, plus two tablespoons
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
Pinch of dried chile flakes
1 large heads of cauliflower, trimmed of green leaves and coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
1 lb broco-flower, peeled and cubed
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth

1| Peel and cube the broco-flower and cauliflower, coat them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in a 425* F oven for 30 minutes, or until soft and deeply browned.
2| Heat a large pot over medium heat, add a 1/4 cup of olive oil, add the onion, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chile powder, chile flakes, a pinch of salt and pepper, and lastly the garlic.
3| When very soft but not browned, add cauliflower, sunchokes and chicken broth. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
4| Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is very tender, about 15-20 minutes.
5| Pour the soup into a blender or using an immersion circulator, blitz the soup until luxuriously smooth. Add water if it feels too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Editor's Note (That's me!): This tastes great with some slightly-stale French bread sprinkled with EVOO, garlic salt and some oregano - then broiled for about 3-5 minutes.