My latest kitchen experiment is a cleaner version of a broccoli soup than I've ever made before. In the past, I would have added milk and cheese and thought that both ingredients were "required" for the end product to be tasty. Now that we have really cleaned up our family's diet that old approach didn't fit any longer so I had to alter my thinking and, consequently, my recipe.
I had a whole cauliflower in the fridge just begging to be used. I'd bought it on a whim after seeing some TV chef make a roasted cauliflower that looked pretty tasty. Unfortunately, time got away from me, the need for a simplified meal took over and there the cauliflower sat, on the top shelf of my fridge sad and lonely.
So, I decided that in this most vexing of winters we needed some healthy, tasty soup. I read a number of recipes for cauliflower soup using search terms like: clean, vegetarian, vegan, healthy and paleo. Many of the recipes were moderately rated, so I was a little concerned. Then I started reading the reviews of some of them and realized that some of my tried and true tricks might produce a soup that would earn a higher rating than those in my research.
One of my favorite tricks is to use onion, celery and carrots in nearly everything I cook. I love matchstick carrots and add them to salads every time, but I've also thrown a handful into my enchilada filling, various sauces I make and nearly anything else that seems that it would benefit from a little carroty sweetness. I also buy baby carrots and lately have found bags labeled as "petite" which are smaller and seemly sweeter than the others. I use these in a variety of preparations as well as the obvious lunch box application. I will cut a handful into coins if I'm making chicken and dumplings (one of darling daughter's favorites), I threw a large handful into this soup as no added prep was needed and it was an easy way to ensure a flavorful end product.
Another favorite is celery. I think celery gets a bad rap. It's stringy - yes, yes, it can be - it can have a harsh flavor - especially if it's darker green - and it's not as sexy as some of the newer veggies that have hit the produce section of your market (e.g., jicima, star fruit, pomegranate). I, however, love, love, love celery, but I choose wisely when I buy it. First, celery is a winter veggie, so if you're trying to buy it in July, be extra careful as it may not be as sweet and mild as in the winter. Second, I think the lighter green the better the taste, so I avoid stalks of all dark green celery as I usually find they're bitter. Next, I buy the whole celery instead of the bags of celery hearts. I do use the darker outer stalks, those go in the bottom of my roasting pan for chicken or a beef roast, but if you're going to eat it raw, say in chicken salad, you want the lighter stalks near the middle. I do taste the darker stalks before I use them and if the stalk is bitter I throw it in the trash as I work hard to make a meal and I don't need anything working against me.
Last, but certainly not least are onions. I love onions. Sweet onions and red onions are my favorites. I like red onions in my salad as they are a bit more nutritious (see this page if you want to know more). I use sweet onions when I make things like French onion soup or Onion Dip (I like Ina's recipe for onion dip) and I thought they would bring flavor a balance to this soup. Sometimes you want that good old fashioned onion flavor - like in chicken soup or spaghetti sauce, but for this preparation and a few others, a sweet onion produces a more tasty end product.
Add just a few more ingredients to the carrots, celery and onions and you'll have soup. Give this one a try, it's pretty easy. The hardest part, I think, is whizzing it at the end, so it is easy enough to be a weeknight meal. It also makes enough for leftovers, especially if you serve it with salad or sandwiches. If you make it, let me know what you think.
Lisa's Winter White Cauliflower Soup
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into 8ths
- 4 good size green onions, cut into 2" or 3" chunks
- 3 stalks of celery - lighter green stalks, cut into 2" or 3" chunks
- 1 cup baby carrots - straight from the bag, no need to chop (I used petite size)
- 1 small head Cauliflower, cut into 2" or 3" chunks
- 2 small bay leaves
- 3 tbsp dried parsley
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste (black)
- 1/3 cup GF all purpose flour blend (I used King Arthur)
- chicken or vegetable stock - 2 boxes
- 3 slices bacon (if vegetarian/vegan use olive oil)
Place a soup pot over a medium heat. While pot heats, cut the bacon into 1-2" pieces with kitchen shears. When the pot is hot, add bacon by placing individual strips around the bottom of the pot so that you don't overlap too many pieces - this will help with even cooking of the bacon. Stir after the bacon has started to cook a bit and then occasionally again until the bacon is cooked through and has rendered its' fat. Remove the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off most of the bacon fat, leaving about 2 tbsp in the bottom of the pan.
Return the pan to the heat and add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pot, add a pinch of salt and stir. Allow the veggies to cook until the sweet onion is translucent. Add the flour and stir well to coat all of the vegetables and distribute the flour. Allow the flour to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often so that the ingredients don't burn.
Add the cauliflower and bay leaves. Stir to distribute then add the parsley, crushing it between your palms as you add it to the pot. Stir again, then add the stock. You want the liquid to nearly cover all of the vegetables, but not quite. If you have too many veggies sticking out of the stock, either add more stock or sub good old water. Allow to cook, stirring often, until the cauliflower is soft and the carrots are cooked through.
Remove from heat, remove bay leaves and puree using either an immersion blender or by pureeing small batches in your counter blender. If you have a water-proof food processor, you can use that too, but mine would leak.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to suit your palate. Serve with bacon crumbles that you used to render the fat for the soup. A green salad or a sandwich makes a nice complement to this soup and a filling winter meal that's easy on the cook!
Makes 8 servings
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