Cauliflower and Cheddar Cheese Soup

This is my first soup of the season and it comes from The Great Big Cheese Cookbook. Today is one of those chilly and rainy fall days here in Philadelphia. It only seemed fitting to make a nice warm soup while I hibernated inside for the day. The best part is that I had everything on hand. I made a few modifications to the recipe. Instead of using a head of white cauliflower, I purchased last week a gorgeous head of Fiesta Cauliflower which is a beautiful shade of orange. Also, because I was using orange cauliflower, I substituted the carrots for a few strips of roasted red peppers. This was a relatively quick and easy soup to put together. The most labor intensive part is the chopping on the front end. After that, it's as simple as cooking the chopped items in the broth and then putting it through the blender after it cools.

Did you know how good cauliflower is for you? Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family. Cruciferous vegetables are considered to be "super veggies" that are packed with vitamins, fiber and disease fighting phytochemicals. When I'm not using it in soup, I love to eat my cauliflower roasted and baked in a gratin with black olives and a mustard cream sauce. Thank God my taste buds have changed over the years because I remember when I was growing up the only vegetable that I was willing to eat was corn.

Here's a few facts about the fiesta cauliflower:

1. It has so much beta carotene that it actually turns the cauliflower orange.
2. It has 25% more Vitamin A than white cauliflower.

Happy eating!

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth or water
2 cups chopped potatoes
3 1/2 cups cauliflowerets, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon dill
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter

Combine the broth, potatoes, cauliflowerets, onion, carrot, garlic and salt in a large saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender.

Return the puree to the saucepan and over low heat, gradually add the cheese, dill, dry mustard and pepper. Stir until the cheese melts.

In a small bowl whisk together the milk and flour until smooth. Slowly pour in to the hot soup, stirring until well blended about 5 minutes.

Saute the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cauliflowerets in butter until crisp and tender. Add to the soup.