Cauliflower Soup

      I was reminded today that one year I informed my mother that I was going to give up cauliflower for lent.  Now obviously this is silly: the point being that you are supposed to sacrifice something, but at the time I thought myself quite smart. You see, if I say I am giving up something that I never eat in the first place then I won't fail. The irony is now I would be hard pressed to give it up, now I would put it up there among my favorite vegetables.  This soup is one of the reasons it got up there. It's just a few ingredients; cauliflower, some aromatics and a few spices.  I usually make mine creamy, but it works great as a vegan soup too.  (it's gluten free no matter what)
      You are going to purée the soup once it is cooked, so you don't have to be very precise with your knife work. I do like to cut fairly thin slices of everything so that it cooks quickly and thoroughly.  Start with a splash of oil in a large heavy bottom pan on medium heat.  Add
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and
1 fennel bulb, core removed and thinly sliced
sweat the vegetables until they become translucent.  Deglaze with
1/4 cup white wine then add
6 cups water or vegetable stock and
1 head cauliflower, cleaned and rough chopped
bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Let cook until the cauliflower is very soft (15-20 minutes).  Season with
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
Use a blender to puree.  For a smother soup pass through a strainer.  At this point I will add a bit of cream, or more water or stock to thin out the soup, about 1 cup. 

      Hope this warms you up this fall!