luscious cauliflower soup
October 17, 2014 § 73 Comments
Someone asked me the other day if I usually know in advance what I am making for dinner. I had to pause and think about the answer for a moment because I am always aware of what’s in my refrigerator and have a general idea of what I will be cooking for dinner. However, a majority of the time I don’t actually make what I originally had in mind when I bought the ingredients. This cauliflower soup is a perfect example. We have been enjoying this wonderful warm cauliflower cous cous with chili and lime and this was part of my plan for dinner last Wednesday, and the reason I purchased cauliflower. 
Fall weather is definitely here and it happened to be a cool wet day. I spent some time outside and admittedly a bit unprepared for the cool misty day in my canvas Converse sneakers, which left me chilled and damp footed for the rest of the day. As I was driving home from work, with the heater blasting my feet, I thought about the warm cauliflower salad and I couldn’t wait for dinner. Nevertheless with the chill in the air (and cold feet) I couldn’t get my mind off of a pot of soup simmering on the stove. By the time I reached home I decided to make cauliflower soup instead. This soup is very creamy and irresistible. And to think I actually had creme fraiche in the refrigerator, unheard of!
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut up
- 3 medium size potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 medium red onion
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 cups stock, chicken or vegetable
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 7 ounces creme fraiche
- 1/2 cup good cheddar cheese
- several chives for snipping on top
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add potatoes and coat well. Continue to cook for 5 minutes and add the cauliflower. After cauliflower is well coated add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low continue to slow boil until potatoes are tender. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until desired consistency. We like our soup to have a small amount of texture, so leaving some cauliflower and potato whole is preferred. Add cheese, half & half and creme fraiche. Stir in chive snippets and serve. 
cauliflower soup
March 7, 2013 § 1 Comment
I love soup. I love to cook soup. I love to eat soup. I have countless soup recipes to share! After I spotted a nice looking head of cauliflower…I was hankering for some cauliflower soup today! This is simple, easy and ready in 30 minutes. I especially like the combination of pancetta, crispy sage, and cream fraiche as a topper for this soup. To substitute the pancetta you can use chopped bacon and either plain greek yogurt or sour cream for the cream fraiche.
Soup
- 1/4 cup olive oil + 2 tbsp.
- 2 large russet potatoes peeled and diced (not pictured)
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 3 or 4 medium carrots, diced
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- salt / pepper
Garnish
- 1/2 cup of creme fraiche, sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 4 oz. cubed pancetta or 5 strips of chopped bacon
- 12 large sage sprigs
Using medium high, heat the olive oil in a large pot. Cook the onion until softened and aromatic. Add the carrots, potatoes and cauliflower and toss well to coat. Continue cooking 5 minutes allowing the flavor to blend a little. Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and lower heat back to medium so it is not a roaring boil. Allow soup to soft boil until carrots and potatoes are tender.
I use a hand blender and whizz the soup just enough to leave a few cauliflower and potato bits whole. Soups done! Let the soup sit while frying the sage leaves.
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil in a nonstick pan and fry the sage on both sides until crisp. Remove with tongs. salt a little.
Divide the soup among serving bowls. Top with a tablespoon each of “cream” and pancetta. Place 3 fried sage leaves on top and serve.
Serves 4 – with a little left over for lunch tomorrow…
