Cauliflower Tomato Vegetarian Soup

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This started out as a pasta sauce recipe from Diane Seed's "Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces" as reported in the Mercury News.  Once we made the sauce we couldn't put it over the pasta - it was just toooo incredible. So into a few bowls and we had a fantastic soup.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:  25 minutes

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 dried chili pepper or 1 tsp dried chili flakes (to taste)
• 1 head cauliflower cut into golf ball sized chunks
• 8 oz can whole peeled tomatoes and juice
• 1 cup canned vegetable broth (not soup, broth)
• 1 cup heavy cream (or use milk - it's still good, but cream? ahhhhhh) (By the way, *not* "Bavarian Cream")

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, warm olive oil until it is very hot, but not smoking.  Add garlic and chili and cook for 1 minute.

Add cauliflower, sprinkle with salt (a good amount, but remember that the vegetable broth is probably salty), and toss to coat with the hot oil.  Sauté for 5 minutes. 

Crush the tomatoes in a bowl until they are wrenched into chunks. Add to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add vegetable broth (you can substitute chicken broth) and simmer for 10 minutes more.

Add cream to the soup.  Place into bowls and serve really hot.

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