from the "archives"

It should be in the archives, anyway, as I made this soup back in October. I defrosted the leftovers and had them for dinner before my trip to Mexico. I thought I'd posted the recipe here, but apparently not. After much searching, here it is.

N.B. This soup improves enormously with a "rest" period - it is substantially better the next day (or even months later, if you are as bad about rotating frozen leftovers as I am).

Cauliflower and Bell Pepper Chowder
adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 large shallots, minced
• 1/2 C sliced celery
• 5 C home-made stock (veggie or chicken) or 5 C water plus Better Than Bouillon
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers, chopped
• 1 C peeled and chopped red potato
• bay leaf
• 1 C 2% milk
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1/4 C sour cream

Melt the butter in a soup pop over medium heat. Add shallots and celery. Cook 5 minutes or so, until softened. Add stock or water & bouillon and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, bell pepper, potato, and bay leaf; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potato is tender (about 20 min). Stir in milk and pepper; discard bay leaf.

Using an immersion blender, process until some of the soup is pureed, but leave a few chunky bits. Stir in basil and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

serves 4