Creamy cauliflower soup

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In my house, making soup is a surefire way to get kids to eat vegetables. Even Hot Dog Boy, who would happily live on processed meat products, rarely turns down a good bowl of soup. Especially when it's topped with crushed tortilla chips or homemade croutons, or when there's a hunk of bread to dip into the bowl.

My normal vegetable soup method involves sauteing an onion and some garlic in olive oil, adding the vegetable in question plus one potato (as a thickener) and some chicken broth, cooking until soft, and blitzing until smooth with a hand-held immersion blender. This works well for broccoli, leeks, zucchini, artichoke hearts, carrots, parsnips, even lettuce.

Cauliflower, though, I treat slightly differently. Using butter instead of olive oil does something magical to the flavor of cauliflower, bringing out nutty undertones that otherwise go unnoticed. I also simmer the vegetables in a combination of milk and broth, which makes the soup quite rich, giving the illusion of cream without its obvious drawbacks.

I make this soup all year, but it's particularly comforting now, in the dead of winter. I feel a bit hypocritical calling January in southern California "the dead of winter" - but hey, it may be 65 degrees and sunny here, but it's snowing somewhere (I heard it on the news).

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Creamy cauliflower soup

by Erika Kerekes January-12-2011

Simmering the cauliflower in a mixture of stock and milk makes a luxurious, creamy soup without the fat of heavy cream.

Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced (I don't normally peel, but in this case the aesthetics win out over the fiber)
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 cups milk (whole, lowfat or fat-free)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Cut the cauliflower into florets. Peel the tough outer skin off the stem, then chop the remaining inner stem into small pieces.In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onion 4-5 minutes or until it turns translucent - don't let it brown. Add the cauliflower, potato, stock and milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup, covered, until the vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes. Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until very smooth (or transfer to a countertop blender, being careful not to burn yourself). Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 6-8 servings