Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Made this tonight, combining several recipes.  This entry is more for my future reference, so that I don't forget the combination of ingredients I settled on, but I do recommend you give it a try.  It's a veggie-packed dinner that was very delicious and surprisingly filling.  Gideon went back for seconds - and finished them.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1 celery rib, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium potato, cubed
1 tsp thyme (or dill would be nice, too)
1 bay leaf
4 cups broth and water, mixed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spread cauliflower florets on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes, until tops are light brown and ends are medium-dark brown (if you have not had roasted cauliflower before, you are in for a treat - you might want to eat the cauliflower just like that).

In large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1-2 Tbsp oil over medium heat and add carrots, celery, onion and potato; brown for a few minutes.  Add thyme and garlic for just a minute, then toss in roasted cauliflower and pour in enough liquid (broth, water or both) to cover everything.  Toss in bay leaf.  Bring to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, 30 minutes or so.  Remove bay leaf and puree soup - carefully - either in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender.  Add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with grated parmesan cheese or swirl in a tablespoon of sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) or both.  Would also be fantastic with bacon crumbles on top, as well (only real bacon, of course).  Serve dinner roll, French bread or buttery toast points on the side.  Voila!

(Sorry, no fantastic food photography to offer here - not my thing, so how 'bout a little reminder of where we were this time last year - a hotel.  That's right.  It's been a year since we arrived in Southern Maryland.)

Oh, yeah, now I remember why I just about lost my mind those two months!