Sunday, October 11, 2009

Cauliflower Soup

Sundays in the fall mean one thing... football! We usually have some munchies during the 4 pm game so dinner is usually on the light side.

This week I found a recipe on RealSimple.com for Cauliflower Soup. Taking a photo of a white soup seemed pointless. It was very tasty. I got the seasonings right and the cheese took away from the cauliflower taste.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
1 2/3 cups grated white Cheddar
kosher salt and pepper

Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, broth, and milk and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

Puree the soup in the pan using a handheld immersion blender or, working in batches, a standard blender. Stir in 1 2/3 cups of the Cheddar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

But then there was dessert... Took a ride to Bishop's Orchard and picked up some apples. Made an Apple Galette from the William-Sonoma site. I used my usual pastry recipe instead of theirs. It was so easy to make and it looked great and the taste... well let's just say I am bookmarking the recipe.

I did make a couple of changes in the recipe. There was a paragraph about rack placement and using 2 baking sheets... I just used a baking sheet with sides and lined it with parchement paper and sprayed with cooking spray.

For the filling:
2 lb. apples, such as Granny Smith or Jonagold, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices (I used Macouns)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sugar for sprinkling
1/4 cup apricot jam


To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch. Set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round. Brush off the excess flour. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Arrange the apple filling in the center of the dough, mounding the fruit slightly and leaving a 2-inch border. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the apples, pleating loosely. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Lightly sprinkle sugar over the apples.

Bake until the crust is golden and the apples are tender, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the galette cool completely, about 1 hour.

Just before serving, in a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the jam. Brush the apples with the jam and let cool. Serves 8.

1 comment:

Kim said...

sounds like a fabulous dinner. I love cauliflower soup with cheese, it's actually one of my favorites.