Italian Cauliflower Carrot Soup Recipe

(photo: cauliflower carrot soup finished with extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and Sriracha sauce).

One of the prized crops on the small Calabrian family farm Nonno Lattella worked until a a few years ago was Cauliflower and like many Italian farmers he respected the vegetable for both it's taste and value.  In fact, Italy is the top producer of Cauliflower (and broccoli) in all of Europe and many farmers continue to rely on cauli-fiori as a top crop.  There are four major groups of cauliflower (viz., Asian, Northwest European biennial, and northern European annuals) but the ancestral form is from Italy (including the oddly shaped Romanesco cauliflower).  Like broccoli, cauliflower is full of sulforaphane a phytochemical which may protect against cancer (only when chopped or chewed, so make sure you take your time eating the vegetable!).

Like many Italians, our family enjoys cauliflower roasted, pickled, sauteed, breaded and fried, and my personal favorite, as a main ingredient in a hearty soup (click here for our list of 7 hearty Italian soups). 

2 cloves of garlic5-6 cups of fresh, filtered, water1 medium onionExtra virgin olive oil1 head of cauliflower (just the florets) 2-3 medium sized carrotsKosher salt and freshly ground black pepperParsley

(photo: the oddly shaped Romanesco cauliflower courtesy of andrewflynn.com)