Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Reader Contribution by Jennifer Rose
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Just as promised—an amazingly delicious soup using the soup stock from the last blog post. Transforming a rather mundane and boring vegetable into an amazing creamy, comforting soup can be a challenge—but not today! Cauliflower is the unexpected star of this dreamy dinner.

I was on a cauliflower kick for awhile; I was finding tons of new ways to use it. My husband loves raw cauliflower, but I think the taste of this strange vegetable leaves a little to be desired when it is served raw. I would rather eat a paper towel than that crunchy tasteless raw veggie. Broccoli, carrots, peppers….sure! Raw cauliflower? Pass. That being said, I am watching my baby cauliflower plants thrive in my winter garden! It’s my first time growing it, and I am trying the regular white variety as well as Romanesco (the beautiful lime green variety).

But back to the soup.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup Recipe

• 1 head of cauliflower; chopped
• 2 tablespoons of EVOO
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 3 cups chicken or veg broth
• 1-1/2 cups of aged cheddar
• 1 cup cream or milk (can sub evaporated milk as well)

First, you will need a large head of this crunchy crudité. Cut it into small pieces, trying to keep them around the same size. Spread these evenly on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Mid-way through cooking give them a flip with the ol’ spatula.

Meanwhile, don’t just stand there doing nothing! Go ahead and get your favorite soup pot out and be sweating some onion and garlic. Sauté those onions until they are clear, then add the garlic and let all those yummy flavors mix together. (It never fails: when I put onion and garlic in a pan and sauté it, my husband will inevitably say, “Wow, honey, whatever you are cooking smells so good.” Every. Single. Time.)

Photo By Jennifer Rose

After you sauté that for a few minutes, go ahead and add some fresh thyme. A teaspoon–ish should do the trick. Then add 4 cups of soup stock to the pot. You can use the chicken stock recipe I shared last week, or you can add any vegetable or chicken broth that you might have handy.


Time to get out the immersion blender! Photo By Jennifer Rose.

At this point, your cauliflower should be good and roasted, so you can go ahead and add all of that to the pot as well. Bring to a boil then let that simmer for 20 minutes. After that, here comes the tricky, could-be-messy-but-it-cleans-up-easy-part—grab your immersion blender. If you are like me, you may need a face mask for this step. (Goodness gracious.) Try to keep the head of the blender submerged as that will keep it from splattering on you and everything else in your kitchen. Be careful as that soup is hot. Blend it well. The consistency will be similar to a potato soup.


Photo By Jennifer Rose.

Now add 1-1/2 cups of the best aged cheddar you can find. Let that melt. Then add 1 cup of cream or milk. This will help the soup become thicker and creamier. Now, here is where you can “make-it-like-you-like-it.” My husband loves bacon, so if you want to add some bacon bits to the top with a little dollop of sour cream or yogurt go right ahead; I won’t judge you. Serve it with some crusty sourdough bread or maybe some rye or pumpernickel croutons? Or maybe some cheese toast? Or maybe a grilled cheese with tomato? Sure. The possibilities are endless. Who said meatless Monday has to be boring? Not me! Enjoy the soup. Let us know what things you try as toppings!



Jennifer is a lover of all things yummy! After traveling the states for 5 years, this Mississippi native brought all her Southern roots to plant them in the funky, easy-to-love, Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she resides with her husband, Phil, and two dogs. She is an avid cook, baker, gardener, and creator of all things wonderful.  She loves being in the kitchen, gardening, hiking, biking, traveling, yard work, anything DIY, good beer and great food! Except kale. She doesn’t like kale.
 

  • Published on Oct 8, 2013
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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