Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup is something I have always wanted to make but never did. My original plan was to replace the cream in the soup with almond milk, or coconut milk... but well let me explain. I was going to blog about my first time making butternut squash soup, and this was when I said I was going to be going vegan again.... and well... it was not good at all. The coconut was way to overpowering, and it did not have that velvety "creamy" texture that I love in a butternut squash soup. It was a complete disaster, a total flop, that I didn't even eat it... and wasted two pounds of squash, and I hate to waste food, but why save it when I know for a fact it will just sit and rot in my refrigerator.

So I decided to keep the cauliflower soup with cream, this was quite simple and delicious, and absolutely perfect on a cold snowy day. This did make so much soup, though... enough that I had three huge bowls, two small bowls.... and still some left over that I just didn't finish in time. The blog in which I got the recipe from can be found on Cooking Classy  In her recipe she uses white cheddar and parmesan, I used a little parmesan but sharp yellow cheddar, as it is what I had on hand, and it was lovely.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower (2 - 2 1/2 lb), cored and chopped into small, bite size pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 3 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups milk
• 1 (14 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp dried parsley or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh
• 1/4 tsp (slightly heaping) dried thyme or 1 tsp chopped fresh
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
• 4 oz shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup), plus more for serving if desired
• 1 oz finely grated parmesan cheese (slightly packed 1/4 cup)

 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly coat, then spread into an even layer and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add in onion and saute until tender, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add in flour and cook, stirring constantly 1 1/2 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of cooking. While whisking, slowly pour in milk followed by chicken broth and cream. Add in parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, roasted cauliflower and season soup with salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt but this may vary depending on how much salt you added to your cauliflower and how much salt you prefer). Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low. Puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender (being careful as your working with hot liquids) and return to soup in pot. Remove from heat and stir in sharp white cheddar and parmesan cheese. Serve warm garnished with additional shredded white cheddar and serve with fresh bread or croutons if desired.