Spicy Cauliflower Poblano Soup

I think the only good thing I can say about being in a cooking rut is getting out of it.  As frustrating as being in a rut is, that split second when you're standing in the grocery store and you spot that ingredient that triggers the avalanche of creativity almost makes it worth the trouble.  That happened to me at Wegman's recently.  The first Wegman's in Massachusetts opened back in October 2011 (same day as the premier of the second season of "The Walking Dead"..... I loved that day...) so yesterday I visited again.  Most of my 2,000 grand opening friends were absent, so I actually got a chance to browse areas I hadn't been able to get near that day.  I knew I had been in a rut.  Sure, I had cooked a few good meals, even a few new-to-me ones, but I hadn't "invented" anything in a long time.   I hadn't found myself inspired enough to do so lately.

The first thing I spotted when I walked into Wegman's this time was a display of huge, beautiful, snow white heads of cauliflower.  Funny, that was the first thing I spotted back in October, too, and now I will forever associate cauliflower with zombies.  It's not just me... in the book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", there is a reference to the carnivorous undead being tricked into feasting on heads of cauliflower instead of human beings.  So don't call me weird or crazy, okay?  It's a perfectly logical association, I assure you.

I remembered this amazing cauliflower soup I made once or twice and thought about making that again, but I really wanted to be inspired to make something different.   I picked one up...put it down....picked it up again...put it down again.  I decided to come back if nothing else piqued my interest, and started wandering through the rest of the produce department.  Last time I was here, I had picked up two poblano peppers - I had never cooked with them before - and promptly fell into my cooking rut, letting them rot in the bottom of by crisper drawer in the fridge.  I spotted them and thought about giving it another try, but passed with an empty basket and headed over to the cheese department.   Ah, to find something new (to me).

And there it was.... a small selection of cheeses I had never tried before!  Among them some Mexican style cheeses, like Cotija, a sort of sharp, crumbly goat cheese; and Queso Panela, a soft, white cheese; and Queso Blanco, a creamy white cow's milk cheese, kind of a fresh mozzarella texture and flavor, but it doesn't exactly melt, it just softens up.  The sign said it can be sprinkled over, among other things,  soups as a garnish....

Soup, you say?
Cauliflower....
Poblano....
Soup....

Egads! I think I feel a recipe coming on!

I grabbed some cheese, then retraced my steps through produce, snagging one of those gorgeous heads of cauliflower, a poblano pepper, a jalapeno, and some of my staple veggies, onions, garlic, red bell pepper and carrots.  I grabbed an avocado, too, because, well, it was there.

Once I got home, I chopped up the poblano pepper, minced three cloves of garlic and separated the cauliflower into bite-sized florets.  I tossed them with some olive oil and seasonings - salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cayenne.

I spread this mixture on a baking sheet and roasted them, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, I diced some onion, celery and carrots and sauteed them in a little olive oil.

When the onions were translucent, I added some diced red pepper.  I like red pepper to stay a little crisper, so that's why I added it later.

After that, I forgot to take pictures, but basically I added some chicken stock and seasonings to the sauteed onion mixture, then stirred in the roasted cauliflower.  I also added a minced fresh jalapeno pepper.  I made a roux out of butter and flour, whisked in milk and added that to the mixture and let it come up to a heavy simmer and thicken up.  I then sort of half-mashed, half pureed the soup.  I like to leave some cauliflower in floret form.  When serving, you can swirl in sour cream and garnish with cilantro, sliced scallions and/or avocado chunks. and maybe a few hunks of that queso blanco or even some shredded cheddar would work..   

Roasted Cauliflower Poblano Soup....Creamy, but light, with a bit of a kick.   Just enough to keep you safe from zombies.

The Recipe.....

Roasted Cauliflower Poblano Soup

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets

1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/3 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Sour cream

For garnish, crumbled queso blanco, sliced scallions, diced avocado and/or chopped cilantro.

Combine cauliflower, poblano and garlic; drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and toss to coat.  Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne and salt & pepper, and toss again.  Spread on baking sheet.  Bake at 375F, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet or stock pot.  Saute onion, celery and carrot until onion is translucent (about 7 minutes).  Add red pepper and cook an additional 3 or 4 minutes.  Add chicken stock, oregano and roasted cauliflower mixture to the onion mixture, and simmer 15 minutes.

In small pan, melt butter; whisk in flour, then milk.  Whisk until smooth, bringing to a boil.  Add to soup.

Mash or puree soup, if desired.

Swirl sour cream into individual servings and garnish as desired.