Back in the days when I taught cooking classes on a regular basis, I utilized roasted cauliflower as a gateway drug to entice folks into the kitchen. Roasted cauliflower is so darn easy and so amazingly good that even my picky eating youngest daughter is a huge fan. People still tell me years later about how they now regularly roast cauliflower and how their family loves it.Roasted cauliflower soup is just as easy, its only a few steps more.
Many recipes for cauliflower soups call for milk and heavy cream. I see no need for this as you can make a soup as smooth and creamy as you like by pureeing in a blender or immersion blender.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
finely chopped thyme as garnish (optional)
Chop up your cauliflower into bite size pieces.You could be meticulous and cut them into nice florets but it’s totally not necessary!
Toss with olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and spread the pieces evenly on a parchment covered baking sheet. Parchment sheets make clean up so darn easy.
Add quartered onion and garlic to the baking sheet, stir it all around to make sure the onion and garlic get some olive oil too.
Roast in a 425 oven for 15- 30 minutes. Check them every 10 minutes or so and give them a shuffle. Every oven is different and the size you chop the cauliflower will determine how fast or slow this process is. Hence the broad time frame of 15-30 minutes.
Add roasted veggies into chicken stock and simmer on the stove for 5 minutes.
Puree with an immersion blender or pour portions of the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Salt and pepper to taste
Serve with chopped herbs as garnish.
