Cauliflower Leek and Onion Purée

From 1992-1996 we lived in the south of France, outside of Nice. While all of the food was to die for, one of the amazing finds was what the french chefs could do with vegetables in the form of a purée. Puréed vegetables are considered baby food by most of us in the US, but in France, purées have a place in the finest restaurants.  You can even find purées at the grocery store, frozen in little briquettes that you just heat and eat!  It was great when my kids were babies, all of their baby food was pure, unadulterated puréed vegetables. We all ate purées of cauliflower, celery root, spinach, beans etc.

Last week we got a cauliflower in our CSA box and I had a leek left over from my corn soup, so I decided to make a purée to freeze for a later meal since we have so much fresh produce right now. Puréed cauliflower is similar in texture to mashed potatoes, but a bit thinner.  It is wonderful on its own or it could be used as a bed for sautéed vegetables.

Here's what I did.

1 cauliflower, chopped into even pieces, about 1-2 inches in size
1 Leek, sliced using white and light green parts
1 small onion, chopped (I used a cipollini onion for it's sweetness)
1 c chicken or vegetable stock or broth
Salt and White pepper

Place vegetables in a microwave safe dish and add 1 cup chicken stock. Cover with a tight fitting lid or plastic wrap and microwave on high for 12-15 minutes until vegetables are very soft. Transfer vegetables to a food processor using a slotted spoon and purée. Add vegetable or chicken broth to thin if needed.

Once the purée was made I seasoned with salt and white pepper.