Roasted Cauliflower Soup with White Cheddar
A lighter version of cauliflower soup filled with roasted cauliflower and served with white cheddar cheese. This creamy and flavorful soup will appeal to the whole family - even those who think they don't like cauliflower. It's also easily made vegetarian and gluten-free.
Servings 6
Calories 496kcal
Ingredients
Roasted cauliflower:
- 1 head cauliflower cut into bite sized florets
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Soup:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium carrot finely diced
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth I use low sodium
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t medium Yukon gold potato finely diced (I didn' peel it)
- ⅓ cup cream
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar or more to taste
Instructions
Begin by roasting cauliflower:
- Preheat oven to 400°. Toss cauliflower, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 30-35 minutes, until tender and golden brown. Toss a couple times during the last 15 minutes of cooking,
Soup:
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, onion, celery, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes). Add the flour or cornstarch, and stir to combine. Add roasted cauliflower, stock, thyme, bay leaf, and potato. If the liquid does not cover the vegetables, add enough water to just cover them (I had to add about 1 cup of water)
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and milk, and discard bay leaf.
- Using a stand blender or immersion blender, puree slightly or all the way, depending on how much texture you want. I pureed a little more than half. Add salt and pepper to taste (make sure it is well seasoned). Stir white cheddar into each bowl right before serving.
Notes
If you need this dish to be vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. If you need it to be gluten-free, make sure that your stock is gluten-free, and use cornstarch instead of flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 1555mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3045IU | Vitamin C: 11.1mg | Calcium: 618mg | Iron: 0.7mg
