Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Vegetarian)

This is one of the very few "recipes" I actually "follow"...AND...repeat. It's a classic from the Moosewood Restaurant's original cookbook. This recipe is wonderfully warming, SIMPLE, and deceptively creamy. With only 2 cups of cheese for about 8 cups of final liquid (I cheated today and made about 12 C of liquid with 3 C cheese--even better), it's not terribly fattening (well, maybe a little, but hey - at least it doesn't call for cream!).

Of course I didn't follow the recipe precisely--how could I?

Again, just like my other soup recipes one will need an immersion blender (best kitchen tool!) for this blended soup, otherwise a blender will work but you have to be careful and wait for it to cool to prevent burning yourself with hot liquid.

In a pot, place the following ingredients all roughly chopped:

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

1 large potato

2 carrots

1 large head cauliflower - reserve about 1-1 1/2 C small florets

Cover the above ingredients with water (about 4 cups) and add about 1 tsp kosher or sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried dill, 1/4 tsp celery seed, about about 1/4 tsp caraway seed (optional).

Bring all of this to a boil and allow to simmer until all of the vegetables are soft and tender.

While simmering, take reserved cauliflower florets and place on a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 425F for about 10 min, then broil until golden brown. Set aside.

Once vegetables are soft, turn heat off, and blend the soup with the immersion blender until pureed and smooth. To this, add about 1 C skim or low-fat milk, and continue to blend.

Finally, add about 2 C shredded extra sharp or sharp cheddar cheese and stir into soup. Salt and pepper to taste--serve garnished with some additional shredded cheese, roasted cauliflower florets, and parsely!