Diz was gone last week so I decided to experiment a bit with some cooking ingredients that he would consider less-than-desirable…Cauliflower! Mountains and mountains of cauliflower! That delicious white-fibery-flower that almost kinda-sorta looks like a brain. If zombies were vegetarians, they’d eat it. Pinterest has been full of yummy looking cauliflower recipes (like this one, and this one, and this one) and I’ve been wanting to try some of them out, so I became a pseudo-vegetarian last week and had cauliflower with each meal. My favorite new recipe was a combination of two soup recipes…It was creamy and cheesy and slightly chunky but had good flavor (lots of garlic will do that). It was my first time pureeing a soup too and I thought it turned out quite well. Diz might have even approved. So without further ado, here is my combination recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Peppered White Cheddar…
Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Leek (white part only), sliced
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
3 cups chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded (I used Tillamook peppered white cheddar)
1 cup milk or cream (depending on how rich you want it)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Arrange cauliflower florets, leek slices and garlic in single layer on a large baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil along and sprinkle the salt and pepper on the veggies. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the baked cauliflower and leeks, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender (I couldn’t find mine so I poured into a regular blender and it worked just fine). Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again. Mix in the milk (or cream), season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Enjoy!
Cheers!