Cauliflower Chicken Soup

Cool fall days are the perfect time to enjoy some soup. My cauliflower chicken soup is so delicious that you will be surprised at how easy (and fast!) it is to make.

I like to keep quarts of homemade chicken stock in my freezer to use as soup starters but when I run out I will grab some ready-made stock like Swanson's low-sodium chicken stock or Rachael Ray's chicken stock. From start to finish (using already made chicken stock) you can get this soup ready in 30 minutes.

Here's what you need:

2 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 medium or 1 small yellow onion
2 tablespoons fresh parley (chopped)
4 carrots
4 stalks of celery, leaves included
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Chop the garlic and onion finely.

Slowly saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot.

While this is slowly softening chop your vegetables.

Start with the carrots and slice the peeled carrots into uniform 1" pieces. Add these to the pot and next wash and then chop the cauliflower. Use mostly just the florets and a small amount of the stems. Add the cauliflower to the pot as you chop it.

Once the cauliflower has been added, chop the washed celery- including the leaves and add to the pot.

Add the freshly chopped parsley, stock and water. Stir together and add paprika, black pepper and salt.

Bring this to a boil and then turn the flame down to a simmer.

Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes until vegetables are tender. You can add about a cup of cooked pasta (elbows or other small shaped pasta) before serving but this soup is perfect without added pasta.

This is so simple but so delicious!