Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Yesterday I made a cheesy version of my mom’s cauliflower soup because the weather outside, while still beautiful, has been just barely chilly enough to trigger the I NEED SOUP NOW mechanism in my central nervous system, and a creamy, comforting soup just sounded good to me. It’s simple, flavorful, slightly rich but not crazily so…

And it has cauliflower in it. And that’s reason enough for me.

Cauliflower is my boyfriend right now.

Start by cutting several slices of thin bacon into small bits…

And throwing them into a pot.

Fry them up…

Until they’re nice and crisp…

Then take the bacon out of the pot…

And drain the grease out of the pan. Now, you can discard this or you can pour it on top of the 407 sedimentary layers of bacon grease you have in a large jar in your fridge…whatever you prefer.

(I won’t tell you which choice I made.)

Meanwhile…

Dice up an onion!

Then throw it in the pan…

And cook it for a few minutes over medium-high heat, until the onions are soft and golden brown.

Now, when you make cauliflower soup, it’s generally helpful to have a head of cauliflower nearby.

Break it into large pieces…

Then into smaller florets…

Lopping off the thick stalks along the way.

Throw the cauliflower into the pot and sprinkle with a little Cajun seasoning. (Or any seasoning you like!)

Then just cook it for a few minutes, until the cauliflower gets some great color.

Then pour in a whole bunch of chicken broth! No sodium is best, because you can always add salt later…but low sodium is fine, too. (The Cajun spice mix I used had plenty of salt in it, so this could have gotten pretty salty pretty fast.)

Next, just simmer the cauliflower/broth mixture for about 15-20 minutes with the lid on.

Now, while the soup is simmering, make a simple white sauce in a separate saucepan: Melt a little butter…

Then sprinkle in a little flour…

Whisk it into a paste and cook for a minute…

Then pour in some milk.

Cook it over medium heat, whisking it continually, until it’s nice and thick.

Then, to make it even more luscious and rich, pour in some half-and half…

And stir it together.

At this point, puree the soup a bit! I’m using an immersion blender, because it’s easy…but you can transfer half the soup to a regular blender, too. Just be careful not to fill it too full with the hot soup, since it will expand when you blend it.

The goal here is to puree the soup about halfway to 2/3 of the way through so that you have a slightly pureed cauliflower texture with some chunks of cauliflower left.

Next, pour in the white sauce, baby.

***Note: If you’d rather leave out the flour, you can just add the milk and half-and-half to the soup without making the roux. It will result in a thinner soup, but it’s still delicious! Pureeing the cauliflower all the way helps thicken the soup a bit.

Mmmm. Looking good so far!

Just return the pot to the stove and bring it to a gentle boil for about 5 minutes. It won’t be overly thick—just moderately so—so if you’d like a slightly thicker soup, just whisk a little extra flour in a little extra milk, then pour it in and let it cook for a few more minutes.

Remove it from the heat and grate up a bunch of cheese, please! I used Monterey Jack, but I think Pepper Jack would be utterly amazing, as would straight cheddar, cheddar-jack…anything goes!

Toss it on in there…

Then—as if it weren’t crazily decadent enough—some sour cream. Just a little dab will do ya!

(Pssst. Name that old hair product.)

Then mince up some parsley…

And sprinkle it in.

Taste the seasonings and add more of whatever it needs. I added black pepper!

And why not? A little more cheese.

Basically, just mess with it until your soul is happy.

Then serve it up alongside some warm wheat rolls.

And okay, top it with a little extra cheese.

And alright, sprinkle on a little extra parsley.

And what the heck…

Sprinkle on some bacon bits!

Done, done, and…

Sllllluuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrp!

Oh, and here’s the part where I realized that when I photographed my Perfect Potato Soup back in 2013, the finished bowl looks very similar (even though the soups couldn’t be more different.)

So I grabbed a different bowl, just so I could sleep last night, and snapped another photo or two.

Mmmmmm. “And the girl was happy…”

Here’s the handy dandy printable!

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Recipe
Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 10

Print Recipe

Ingredients
4 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into Small Bits1 whole White Onion, Finely Diced1 head Cauliflower, Broken Into Small Florets1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice, More To Taste1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper2 quarts Low Sodium Chicken Broth1/2 stick Butter1/4 cup Flour2 cups Whole Milk1 cup Half-and-half1/4 cup Sour Cream3 cups Grated Monterey Jack Cheese, More To Taste2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley Salt As Needed Preparation Instructions

In a large pot, fry the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bits from the pan and drain on a paper towel. Pour off the grease and return the pan to stove, leaving the bacon bits to the side for now.

Add onions and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add cauliflower, sprinkle with Cajun spice and black pepper, and stir, cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the cauliflower starts turning golden brown. Pour in chicken broth, stir, and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. After that time, you can use an immersion blender to puree slightly or all the way if you prefer. (Or use a regular blender; just don't fill too full.)

In a separate saucepan or skillet, melt the butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to form a paste. Pour in the milk, then continue cooking until it becomes thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half.

Pour the white sauce into the soup. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring back to a boil for 3-5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and cheese until fully melted. Stir in the parsley.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a little extra cheese, a sprinkle of bacon, and a sprinkle of parsley.

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on October 20 2014