The Well-Sourced Life

Search

Search

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Facebook

Good morning! It’s a rainy day here in the valley which gets me all excited because it’s another day with an excuse to make cozy, hot soup. You may have been surprised at the title for this recipe – We’ve all had broccoli cheddar soup at one point or another in our lives, right? We’ve had butternut squash or “Autumn soup”, maybe if you’re adventurous you’ve even had pumpkin soup! And they’re all fabulous. But I want to introduce you to Roasted Cauliflower Soup. 

This is something that caught my eye a while back and I knew I had to try my hand at it. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare vegetables (did you see my twice baked sweet potatoes recipe?!), and this one does not disappoint. My usual go with cauliflower is to dice it really fine and make a cauliflower rice. My husband absolutely loves it that way, and it’s really tasty! But soup?! That I had never tried. 

So after a few tries I came up with my own recipe that I think you’ll love! There are a few optional ingredients in the list below, which I’ll explain now. 

1. The pig – This soup is STILL delicious if you make it vegetarian and nix the ham. You don’t even need to change the other ingredients, just omit that altogether if you don’t have it, or would prefer to make this a vegetarian meal. 

2. Dairy – Personally, I like the milk in this soup since it adds an extra element of creaminess. But there really isn’t much in there to begin with, and you don’t NEED to have it to make the soup delicious! I have made this same recipe without the milk and it works just fine – the blended cauliflower can provide its own element of creaminess. 

The main thing that matters here is that the cauliflower itself should be roasted or sautéed before adding the broth in order to bring out the best flavor. In addition, I like to make sure that my chicken broth is nice & flavorful (you may even add a small amount of chicken bouillon if the soup is tasting a little bland). 

One final tip – don’t skip the toppings! In my opinion, a little parmesan cheese, black pepper and red pepper flakes really put the finishing touch on this soup.

The rest is a piece of cake! Or—soup..? That doesn’t quite work. 

WHAT ELSE IS GREAT ABOUT THIS SOUP? 

The other thing that is great about this soup is that cauliflower is perfectly in season! This means that you have a higher likelihood of getting cauliflower that is fresh, and more flavorful because it is the natural season in which it grows. If you grow cauliflower in your home garden, mid-to-late fall is when you’ll want to make this soup. If you live in a warmer zone (Zone 9-10), you may even stretch into the early winter months, which is where we’re at right now. 

WHAT SIDES PAIR WELL WITH THIS SOUP? 

As always, you can pair this with a thick, warmed and buttered piece of Crusty Artisan Sourdough Bread. I’d also recommend a simple arugula harvest salad on the side to make this meal complete!

 

Let’s get cooking! 

Prep Time:	15 MIN
Cook Time	25 MIN
Total Time	40 MIN

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3 Tbsp oil 
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped 
• 1 head of cauliflower, stems removed and florets roughly chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 slice of thick ham steak (approx. 1 lb) **optional
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tsp of dried parsley (or 1 ½ Tbsp of fresh)
• A few dashes of red pepper flakes
• Garlic salt to taste 
• Pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese for topping 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. In a large soup pot, sauté the oil, onion and cauliflower on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and sauté one additional minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the broth, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
2. In a separate pan, sear both sides of the ham steak on high heat, then reduce to medium heat until fully cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 
3. Near the end of the cook time, add the milk to the soup mixture. Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. 
4. Once the ham steak has cooled, cut it into bite size pieces (1/2 inch by 1/2 inch squares) and incorporate into the soup. 
5. Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese, fresh or dried parsley, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. 

I hope you enjoy this as a new part of your soup repertoire! Please let me know in the comments below how you enjoyed this soup!