Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

This velvety cauliflower and sweet potato soup is not only delicious, it's super easy to make and fast enough for a weeknight dinner. In fact, the soup will be ready in about the time it takes to make a salad, slice some crusty french bread, set the table, and corral everyone in for dinner. After all the excess of the holiday season it's nice to get back to some lighter fare for a bit.

My love of soup and of my immersion blender is already well-known. This healthy soup is lightly flavored with cinnamon, is gluten free, and can be made vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup ~ serves 6-8
48 ounces low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
6 cups cauliflower, fresh or frozen
2 cups sweet potato, finely diced or previously baked and peeled
2 cups mirepoix
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 large bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and mirepoix. Sauté until onion begins to turn translucent. Add cauliflower, sweet potato, stock, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick. Simmer gently until vegetables are tender - about 30 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Using an immersion blender, or working in batches with a blender, puree soup to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve hot.

Optional: you can certainly add cream or serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt if you prefer. I like mine plain with buttered French bread to dip in the soup.

Enjoy!