quick and delicious silky romanesco soup

A botanical dilemma, this gorgeous edible has caused much confusion about its true parentage. Sometimes called Romanesco broccoli and sometimes called Romanesco cauliflower in North America, the French call it Romanesco cabbage while the Italians refer to it as broccolo Romanesco.

Having a dense texture reminiscent to cauliflower, baby broccoli Romanesco has a crunchier bite. I substituted Romanesco for a  www.smittenkitchen.com recipe that called for cauliflower and was happy with this healthy dinner for girls night.

Eating is so much more than preparing and cooking food: it’s about giving, friendship, beauty, warmth, color, experience, fragrance, simplicity and of course company.

Serves 4 to 6

8 heads baby romanesco
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock or veggie stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the leaves and thick core from the romanesco, coarsely chop, and reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the romanesco and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the romanesco is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender and return it to the pot.

Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth.

Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Now play with glitter with all your best friends because glitter makes everything better, and we were making Valentine’s Day cards for our loved ones. You should probably go make a card for your mom, sister, brother, nephew or niece, grandparents and best friends right now.