Monday, December 14, 2020

MONDAY RECIPE POST - CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP


This was a great soup!  I found the recipe on Taste of Home. I will add the link later but if you type the recipe title below and add the website’s name in your search engine, you will be able to find the original.  People who may see the word 'cauliflower' and give this recipe pause for thought, hopefully will change their mind when they taste it, as my sweet other half did.  He finished the bowl and had seconds, and then gave it a ten out of ten.  The lady who made this soup is Carol and she comes from San Antonio, Texas.  Thank you Carol!


Winning Cream of Cauliflower Soup  - makes 8 servings        

Preparation time: 30 minutes - Cooking time: 40 minutes

286 calories per cup


2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, grated

2 celery ribs, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium head cauliflower, chopped

5 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sour cream

Fresh tarragon, optional

 

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in 1/4 cup butter until tender.

Add cauliflower, broth, parsley, salt and pepper, basil and tarragon.

Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter.

Stir in flour until smooth.

Gradually stir in the milk and whipping cream.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 2 minutes.

Add to cauliflower mixture.

Cook until thickened, stirring frequently, 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream.

Garnish with tarragon if desired.


A definite keeper and if you make this, hopefully you will feel the same way.  

I made a few changes starting with the amount of broth.  

I ended up using more broth, two cartons containing 4 cups each, because I didn't want to leave any left over in the fridge and I was trying to free up space. Consequently I also used a tad more butter and flour to the mix.  When it seemed a bit too thick, adding a little more broth did the trick. Just add enough until the consistency is to your own taste.

I read the comments from people who had made this soup beforehand, and highly recommend doing that.  Someone suggested adding the cheese (about 1 cup of grated cheddar), which we did and it was delicious.  

Another said this was a great way to get her kids to eat vegetables.  

Another said puree your soup with either the blender or using a hand-held immersion blender.  We didn't do this but if you have kids or perhaps someone who isn't sure of those veggies, this would be a great camouflage idea.  We ate as is and had no problems, the taste was great.

There is quite a lot of butter used and one commenter said they replaced theirs with olive oil.  We didn't but we cut down in other areas.  That being said, it would probably make a delicious clear broth soup, with none of those extras of butter, flour or cheese,  and you might want a more heart-healthy ingredient to cook the vegetables.  I suggested trying this next time but one of us does not want to change a single thing.  When we make a meal for the first time, and this is part of the fun of making it together, we like to analyze our meals afterwards.  Fortunately we mostly agree on each other’s suggestions, but occasionally have a different opinion😊.

Instead of the whole milk and whipping cream, I used 2% milk.  It still tasted nice and creamy.

I had a container of mushrooms in the fridge needing to be used.  I chopped those up and added them in with the onion, carrots, celery and garlic at the beginning of the recipe.

I replaced the tarragon with thyme, simply because I didn't have tarragon in the pantry and I know we both like the taste of thyme. 

We didn't add anything else, no bread or salad as it was hearty enough on its own.  It would go very nicely with a crusty bread, or even home made dinner rolls.  As there are lots of vegetables I probably wouldn't add a salad unless someone asked for it.  

There are leftovers for a couple of days, and one of the commenters mentioned they always make a big batch of this soup and freeze it for another day.  We are in sync and my old Domestic Science teacher would have no doubt nicknamed me the Freezer Queen, as she already called me the Flour Queen, this after always rolling her eyes to the ceiling.  
I chuckle at the thought now but oh dear, was I ever embarrassed at the time, covered in top to toe with flour.  She had a point and from then on in her classroom I was the Flour Queen.  I may or may not still have a problem with flour when I bake!

As I said at the beginning, this suited both our tastes and we gave it a ten out of ten.

Enjoy your week everyone and...




36 comments:

  1. Sounds great for a cold winter's night.

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  2. Yum.
    I prefer my soup a little chunky so wouldn't have blended it either. Hooray for meals which stretch to cover another day - and are still delicious.

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  3. That does look delicious, I'm a lover of cauliflower.

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    1. Thanks Margaret, me too! Cauliflower cheese was a staple in my home growing up.

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  4. Recipes that can be adapted according to taste such as this delicious-sounding cauliflower soup are welcome. Thank you for sharing the way you made and enjoyed yours. I smiled at the story about your Domestic Science schooldays and the nickname the teacher gave you. :)

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    1. They are indeed. Thank you Linda and you are very welcome. Glad my story gave you a smile :)

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  5. Hello Denise,

    Your soup looks delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe.
    Take care, have a great day and a happy week!

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    1. Thanks Eileen, glad you think so. I wish you the same :)

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  6. this is the perfect time of year for a great soup!

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    1. It certainly is, so warming on a chilly night. Thanks Carol :)

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  7. I love cauliflower soup, and there are many ways to make it. i use an old weight watchers recipe because it is fat free and no calories. this one looks delish and would still fit my diet.

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    1. Thanks Sandra, I think I have that old WW recipe :) I have used it before.

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  8. Oh yum! I think I'll make note to make this for next Sunday's soup. It looks and sounds delicious!

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    1. That's great Martha, please let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

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  9. Denise, or should I say her majesty The Flour Queen, this looks delicious! I have all the ingredients in my fridge to make this. It sounds wonderful. What a great soup for a rainy day. Thank you for sharing it. I agree with your husband, don't mess with a winner next time. Lol.

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    1. Smiling here Martha Ellen :) Thank you and enjoy the soup when you make it. I would love to know what you think. Like minds your hubby and mine.

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  10. I would like to try this recipe but without all that butter, cream and cheese. I love a good vegetable soup.

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    1. I'm sure it would taste very good without also. I am thinking of making minestrone soon. Like you I love a good vegetable soup :)

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  11. Yessss, that sounds delicious...

    We would substitute corn starch for flour, for the thickening agent. Because I can not eat gluten. But that's easy to do.

    Happy Week Before Christmas!
    🎄 🔥 🎄 🔥 🎄 🔥 🎄 🔥 🎄

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    1. Corn starch is a good substitute, I've used it before. Thank you BB, and Happy Week before Christmas to you also :)

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    1. On both counts I soundly agree :) Thanks Christine!

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  13. The ingredients look great. Glad to hear you both enjoyed it so much. That's funny about 'flour queen'!

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    1. Thanks Ellen, I still am a bit of a flour queen, as hard as I try not to be ;)

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  14. I have also made a cauliflower soup before, Denise, but without any milk or cream. We also enjoyed it a couple of days, so the next time I may give your version a try out.

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    1. It seems even more tasty the next day when the flavors have had a chance to develop. Thanks Dorothy, hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

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  15. This sounds absolutely yummy Denise... and it looks it too. A definite must-make for us as cauliflowers and in abundance at the moment. Thanks, as always, for your extra tips and thoughts. Bet your teacher would be quite impressed at how you blog about the weekly recipes and how so many of us appreciate your take on them!
    Cheerio and have a lovely Christmas whatever you are able to do. Stay safe (I know you will), and on to a much better New Year. Sue xx

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    1. Hi Sue, that's wonderful! I also like cauliflower just plain boiled in a pot of water. That's a nice thought about my teacher, thank you for that :) You have a lovely Christmas too and I wish you the same for all the rest.

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  16. This sounds just simply delicious!

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