Watercress Cauliflower Soup

Inspired from the watercress cauliflower soup from Martha Stewart recipe. Besides having the touch of pepper from the watercress, it also has a feel of creaminess from the cauliflower but without the fat, and is extremely simple to make. You just need to saute some onion, cut the cauliflower, pull apart the watercress, and have a blender. On a rainy cool day, it’s comforting yet takes advantage of very nutritious ingredients.

Or I guess it would be if I didn’t eat mine with a thick slice of garlicky cheese bread. I have poor restraint with cheese. But, I felt it was a fair reward as I was cutting and cleaning the cauliflower and came across a worm. I know it’s a possibility when I buy vegetables from the Farmers Market, and it’s totally normal and natural, probably a testament to not using pesticides. So I always clean everything carefully, and cut everything. Yes, this is the rationale (? is it rationale if it’s the reason behind a fear, which is not rational at all) why I don’t eat whole fruit, I always cut it… even strawberries.

I know it’s just a little harmless worm- not like it’s the horror movie Squirm – but I always freak out. Don’t worry, I’m not a screamer. Instead, I am the type of person who freezes in fear. Great survival skill no? I then have to mentally snap myself out of it and get myself under control. And then ask F (not yelling… maybe just a loud insistent raised voice…) to come take it outside to freedom. So I needed that garlic cheese bread for a bit of extra comfort with the comforting healthy soup.

This recipe yields 4 bowls of soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, or you can use olive oil here as well
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
• 2 cups of stock (I used vegetable)
• 2 cups of water
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 5 cups of watercress- leaves and thin stems only, plus additional sprigs for garnish

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until is translucent.
2. Add the sautéed onion, cauliflower florets, 2 cups of stock, as well as 2 cups water pot together in a. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring once, until cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. Remove from heat, and stir in watercress. Now working in small batches after the soup has cooled (don’t do this while it’s hot, or fill the whole container!), puree the soup in a blender.
   
4. Put the pureed soup back in the pot on low heat to warm. To serve,  garnish each bowl with a few sprigs of watercress, and season with a freshly ground pepper to taste.

I am still in my microgreens crush stage, so instead of garnishing with watercress (I forgot to reserve any), I used pea shoots and spicy sprouts from Nightlight Farms from the Portland Farmers Market. Not pictured is that I seasoned my soup pretty liberally with the freshly ground pepper and liked the contrast and layering of the peppery tone of the watercresses versus the peppery tone of the ground pepper.