If the oven is on, then soup’s on.

Surprised? So was I. Roasted Golden Cauliflower Soup is a discovery I’m calling a “two-step soup” — full of flavor, a real timesaver and a new way to eat cauliflower.

Upon viewing some pale, ovened chicken breasts, a friend once declared, “I eat with my eyes, can’t you make these look more tasty?”
White soups fall into this category for me. It does not matter how flavorful the cauliflower soup concoction is, I can’t get past the bland visual. So when I spied another recipe for cauliflower soup, I gave it some thought. I thought about how to add color and bolster flavor.
The oven was on for pizza, another experiment involving a Boboli pizza shell and butternut squash. (Tasting pizza in Australia topped with Australian blue pumpkin slices left me wanting more.) So I saved a bit of the butternut squash from the pizza prep, added cauliflower florets and an onion, spread them on a large baking sheet, tossed with olive oil and dried thyme and when the pizza was crisply done, I placed the baking sheet of veggies right in the hot oven.

I let the veggies cool, placed them in a bowl and turned them into a delightfully filling soup the next night.

Raise your right hand and after you read the following paragraph, and promise to give roasted cauliflower a try. Like me, you might never serve raw cauliflower on crudites platters again. I serve warmly roasted cauliflower in a bowl with a fork next to the raw vegetable plate and describe it as “liberties with crudites.”

Years ago I discovered that roasting cauliflower in the oven turned this oft maligned and casseroled-with-gobs-of-cheese vegetable into one worthy of standing alone as a side dish or even as a warm appetizer. Simply break apart a small head of cauliflower into its natural florets. Try to have all the florets approximately the same size. If necessary, cut some in half.

Place on a large cookie sheet, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. (Toss with freshly chopped rosemary for Italian roasted cauliflower.) Bake in a 375-degree oven for approximately 25 to 35 minutes or until they are cooked al dente and the edges just begin to turn golden brown. Serve immediately.

Golden Roasted Cauliflower Soup
The crunchy pecan garnish makes a good addition because the pureed veggie mixture contains browned bits. Add more milk if you prefer a thinner soup. Serve with crusty whole wheat rolls.
Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower, broken into large florets
2 cups butternut squash, cut into large chunks
1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups 2 percent milk or fat-free half and half
Fresh thyme
Kosher salt and pepper
Optional: Pecans, roasted and coarsely chopped; chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine florets, squash and onion on a large baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and thyme. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown, stirring once in a while. When cool, cover and refrigerate.

When ready to make soup, process veggies with 1/2 cup broth. In a large soup pot, combine remaining broth, veggie/broth mixture and milk or half and half.

Add fresh thyme sprigs. Simmer on low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add salt or pepper. Remove thyme stems. Serve soup in individual bowls sprinkled with (optional) chopped nuts and parsley.

I rarely have time to make my own chicken broth. Pacific, Imagine Foods, Swanson and Pritikin brands are packaged in 32-ounce aseptic boxes, which are available in local groceries and store easily on the pantry shelf.

The world of broths has become so sophisticated that we can now choose organic chicken broth, free-range organic chicken broth, fat-free organic chicken and vegetable broths and broths made with no MSG.

Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base, a convenient jarred product manufactured by Superior Quality Foods, Ontario, Calif., is found in the canned soup aisle.The American Culinary Institute recently awarded this product its 2005 Best Taste Award.

Pat Ernst Dugan is a private chef, educator and food/recipe writer. E-mail her at foodlyyours@aol.com or send comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette, Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902.