Hot Pink Beet & Cauliflower Soup

Hot pink soup?
I bet you could get kids to eat this.  Especially little girls.
Bright and cheerful happiness in a bowl.
 I can't remember the last time a bowl of soup made me so happy to look at.
Tastes delicious and is good for you too.
What more could you want?

I used to detest beets, and I mean really, really hate them.  It's taken almost half a century, but I might just be easing into beets as something I like.  I never liked the texture of canned beets, or the awful sweetness. Now, the nature fresh sweetness is tasty to me, but I do taste the hint of earthiness that used to make me think of 'dirt'.  I know that there are other beet haters out there, so maybe easing them into a soup like this is the answer.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Makes about 8-10 cups

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 head cauliflower

4-5 beets

1 large onion

2-3 garlic cloves

4 cups chicken, or Veggie, broth

Heat your oven to 425 degrees, and lay out the peeled and sliced beets, and sliced onions on baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Do the same for the cauliflower.  I cut the while head of cauliflower into slices to get the pieces to a somewhat thickness, instead of pulling into large chunks.  Keep the garlic cloves whole, so it is less likely to burn.  Roast for about 30 minutes. Until the veggies are tender and starting to brown on the edges.

- - - We ate a couple servings of our roast veggies with our Buttermilk Rosemary Chicken, but used the rest for the soup.  They taste so good roasted, it's hard to resist.

Let the veggies cool a bit and working in batches, blend the veggies with the chicken or veggie stock.  I say work in batches because I attempted to cram pack my blender and do it all at once.  Wow, that was some thick stuff and a bit of a mess.  Just work in batches....

Add the pureed soup to a large saucepan, or small stock pot, and add the rest of the broth, or even water to get the soup to the consistency that you like.  Add salt to taste. You could even add milk, cream, sour cream or buttermilk to add more creaminess and tang.  Your soup would be lighter pink though.

I served mine with a little sour cream dots and some chopped chives.

Here's some other easy veggie soups:
Broccoli, Cheddar & Potato Soup
Carrot Ginger Soup
Chilled Zucchini Buttermilk Soup
Curried Cauliflower Soup

Egyptian Red Lentil Soup
Gazpacho
Mediterranean Tomato Soup

Mexican Cauliflower Soup (for the soul)
Split Pea Soup