Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
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As I must have said before, I love making soup. Lately we ended up with a large amount of (Chinese) cauliflower from someone’s extremely successful cauliflower garden. There was a lot of it so we ended up using it in various ways, one of which was this soup. As with most soups, this one could be executed in a number of ways. Those who would like to have a vegan soup will obviously leave out the cream and the optional cheese. A roux is still a good idea. It might be a good idea to use the roasted garlic option when omitting the cream, to help contribute to a creamy consistency.
The cheese is optional; I did not use much, and I am not sure how much it contributed. That said, using a lot of cheese will produce a cauliflower-cheese soup, much like a broccoli-cheese soup. The bacon bits are also optional. Some sort of toasty/crunchy garnish is recommended, so if you’re not using bacon, consider toasted sliced almonds or pepitas.
This soup is good the night it is made, and will last over a week in the fridge, or 3-6 months in the freezer.
Makes enough for 10-12 people, roughly 3 quarts.
Equipment:
• large dutch oven for soup
• large nonstick skillet for sauteeing florets, and possibly also bacon
Ingredients:
1-2 lb cauliflower for 2lb, quite a large pot will be required
1 ea carrot perhaps just half a carrot depending on size and proportion
2 rib celery
1 ea leek optional; white part
1 ea onion
1 ea shallot
1-2 cloves garlic optional; or an entire bulb, roasted
1-2 leaves bay pull leaf out before blending
1-4 sprigs thyme optional; pull stem out before blending
1/4 cup butter or cooking oil 1/2 a stick if using butter or margarine
1/4 cup AP flour
1 quart soup stock chicken or veg stock, as you prefer; veal to be fancy
1/2 quart water optionally include bouillon ~1/8 tsp
1 cup cream optional; heavy
2-4 oz cheese optional; grated; gruyere or cheddar are good (distinct) choices
4-8 oz bacon optional; cut into lardons or cubes and fried until crispy
1/4 cup pepitas optional; or sliced almonds; toasted to perfection
Finish with: fines herbes optional; fresh parsley, thyme, chives, tarragon chopped together
Procedure:
1. As is the standard soup procedure, peel carrot, onion, shallot, garlic if using it, and wash the celery.
2. Chop all the aforementioned up and put them in the pot over moderate heat to sweat in the 1/4 cup of butter or oil.
3. Cut up the cauliflower, setting aside florets and cutting stem pieces reasonably small, about 1/2” (1 cm) cubes.
4. Add the stem pieces to the pot to sweat with the other veg. Salt and stir.
5. Add bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
6. Sprinkle the flour over the veg and stir to coat evenly.
7. This will shortly smell awful; turn on your vent hood but do not cover the pan. Allow the unpleasant aromas to drift away, forgotten. Keep an eye on the progress, stir often to prevent scorching.
8. Once all the veg has had a chance to become soft, and the flour is starting to color slightly on the floor of the pan, add the stock, water and optional bouillon.
9. Loosen anything stuck to the floor of the pan.
10. Allow the soup to come to a simmer, and cook 20-45 min, to ensure that all the vegetables have softened adequately.
11. As the soup is cooking, fry any lardons you may be using.
12. Toast the pepitas if you are using them.
13. Fry the cauliflower florets. This may be done in the bacon grease, in butter, or in cooking oil.
14. Add the cream if it is being used, and any cheese, once the soup is ready to blend. Make sure to remove bay leaves and thyme stems.
15. Blend the soup as smooth as possible. For ultimate smoothness, run the soup through a fine-mesh strainer and back into its own pot to warm back up.
16. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, Tabasco, lemon juice, vinegars, vermouth, etc.
17. In the serving bowls, arrange some sauteed cauliflower florets.
18. Pour soup over the florets, and then garnish with your preferred choice of garnish.
19. Serve hot, perhaps with some crusty bread.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Check our our Patreon!
patreon.com/loveyourfood
Need a kitchen thermometer? Check out ChefsTemp! Use code LoveYourFood for 15% off a meat thermometer!
shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2084649&u=3322095&m=111859&urllink=&afftrack=
As I must have said before, I love making soup. Lately we ended up with a large amount of (Chinese) cauliflower from someone’s extremely successful cauliflower garden. There was a lot of it so we ended up using it in various ways, one of which was this soup. As with most soups, this one could be executed in a number of ways. Those who would like to have a vegan soup will obviously leave out the cream and the optional cheese. A roux is still a good idea. It might be a good idea to use the roasted garlic option when omitting the cream, to help contribute to a creamy consistency.
The cheese is optional; I did not use much, and I am not sure how much it contributed. That said, using a lot of cheese will produce a cauliflower-cheese soup, much like a broccoli-cheese soup. The bacon bits are also optional. Some sort of toasty/crunchy garnish is recommended, so if you’re not using bacon, consider toasted sliced almonds or pepitas.
This soup is good the night it is made, and will last over a week in the fridge, or 3-6 months in the freezer.
Makes enough for 10-12 people, roughly 3 quarts.
Equipment:
• large dutch oven for soup
• large nonstick skillet for sauteeing florets, and possibly also bacon
Ingredients:
1-2 lb cauliflower for 2lb, quite a large pot will be required
1 ea carrot perhaps just half a carrot depending on size and proportion
2 rib celery
1 ea leek optional; white part
1 ea onion
1 ea shallot
1-2 cloves garlic optional; or an entire bulb, roasted
1-2 leaves bay pull leaf out before blending
1-4 sprigs thyme optional; pull stem out before blending
1/4 cup butter or cooking oil 1/2 a stick if using butter or margarine
1/4 cup AP flour
1 quart soup stock chicken or veg stock, as you prefer; veal to be fancy
1/2 quart water optionally include bouillon ~1/8 tsp
1 cup cream optional; heavy
2-4 oz cheese optional; grated; gruyere or cheddar are good (distinct) choices
4-8 oz bacon optional; cut into lardons or cubes and fried until crispy
1/4 cup pepitas optional; or sliced almonds; toasted to perfection
Finish with: fines herbes optional; fresh parsley, thyme, chives, tarragon chopped together
Procedure:
1. As is the standard soup procedure, peel carrot, onion, shallot, garlic if using it, and wash the celery.
2. Chop all the aforementioned up and put them in the pot over moderate heat to sweat in the 1/4 cup of butter or oil.
3. Cut up the cauliflower, setting aside florets and cutting stem pieces reasonably small, about 1/2” (1 cm) cubes.
4. Add the stem pieces to the pot to sweat with the other veg. Salt and stir.
5. Add bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
6. Sprinkle the flour over the veg and stir to coat evenly.
7. This will shortly smell awful; turn on your vent hood but do not cover the pan. Allow the unpleasant aromas to drift away, forgotten. Keep an eye on the progress, stir often to prevent scorching.
8. Once all the veg has had a chance to become soft, and the flour is starting to color slightly on the floor of the pan, add the stock, water and optional bouillon.
9. Loosen anything stuck to the floor of the pan.
10. Allow the soup to come to a simmer, and cook 20-45 min, to ensure that all the vegetables have softened adequately.
11. As the soup is cooking, fry any lardons you may be using.
12. Toast the pepitas if you are using them.
13. Fry the cauliflower florets. This may be done in the bacon grease, in butter, or in cooking oil.
14. Add the cream if it is being used, and any cheese, once the soup is ready to blend. Make sure to remove bay leaves and thyme stems.
15. Blend the soup as smooth as possible. For ultimate smoothness, run the soup through a fine-mesh strainer and back into its own pot to warm back up.
16. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, Tabasco, lemon juice, vinegars, vermouth, etc.
17. In the serving bowls, arrange some sauteed cauliflower florets.
18. Pour soup over the florets, and then garnish with your preferred choice of garnish.
19. Serve hot, perhaps with some crusty bread.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
