Wild Rice Caulifredo Soup
Ready for this? The base of the soup is pureed steamed cauliflower and garlic. And it's so creamy. Makes 4 big servings or 8 smaller servings.
10 cloves of garlic
1 head cauliflower (cut the leaves off but leave the white branches. Break into chunks.)
1/2 onion diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
4 Cups broth/cauliflower steam water
1 TBSP fat of Earth Balance
3 Cups unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk
1 Cup wild rice (rinsed and uncooked, or chopped broccoli)
1 Cup chopped mushrooms (or other item that sounds tasty to you)
Steam cauliflower for about 20 minutes. ( I have a saucepan that has a metal colander that fits on top and a lid. I fill the base of the saucepan with water, drop the chunks of cauliflower into the colander, put the lid on and turn the heat on. The water steams and softens the cauliflower.)
Let the cauliflower cool a bit. In another pan melt half the Earth Balance and add onions and diced garlic, sauté until caramelized and golden. Place cauliflower, salt, lemon juice, onion and garlic in a food processor or super blender. Puree. Add a little cooking liquid to the mixture if it bogs. When pureed add the mixture to the rest of the cooking water and make up the difference with broth. In the same pan you sautéed onions and garlic in add the rest of the Earth Balance and toss in mushrooms. Heat until they change texture and color. Add to the soup pan with the wild rice. Simmer this for approximately an hour until the rice plumps. Add milk to get the consistency you want in the last 15 minutes before serving.
Serve with crusty chunks of bread.
