Directions

• Step 1 Chop vegetables. Set aside.
• Step 2 Clean lemon and slice a 1-inch piece of zest from the lemon. Juice the lemon. Set aside.
• Step 3 Add water and vegetable broth into a large soup pot along with the cauliflower florets, the strip of lemon zest, 2 T. fresh lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil. Bring the water/vegetable broth to a boil and then bring the temperature down so that the cauliflower and water mixture simmers for about 15 minutes in the covered soup pot. Remove the lemon zest strip and discard.
• Step 4 Heat the 2 T. of olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the chopped onion, carrots and celery along with the garlic and half a teaspoon of salt. Saute for about 20 minutes. You want your vegetables to become soft but not brown. After the 20-minute saute, stir in the herbs de Provence.
• Step 5 Add the sauteed vegetables to the cauliflower and water mixture. Simmer for another 15 or 20 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool a bit. Once it is safely cool, puree the soup with either an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender.
• Step 6 Adjust seasonings (salt and lemon juice). Put the pot of soup back on your stove, add the cream cheese and the remaining 1 T. of olive oil and simmer until the cheese melts into the soup. You can speed the process with your immersion blender.
• Step 7 Saute bread crumbs with some melted butter. Serve the soup topped with some of the bread crumbs.
• Step 8 Cook’s Note: I used some chopped green union and a sliver of fresh red pepper as a pretty garnish on this soup.