Creamy Cauliflower Soup

January 2019 update:  I wanted to update this recipe because it is still a favorite, but I make it a little differently than I did two years ago.  I now use 6 cups vegetable stock instead of 5 to make it a bit thinner (like my broccoli soup) and I use my emersion blender to puree it more.  Also, I previously used chicken broth, but have since switched to vegetable broth which I think has more flavor.  

The newer pictures in the brown soup mug show the more pureed thinner soup and the older pictures in the small crocks show the thicker soup.  You can make it either way, we just prefer the more pureed soup.  It is so good that the kids literally scrape every last bite out of the pot.  We seem to have just the right amount for our young family, but as the boys' appetites grow as they get older I predict I will be making double batches of this yummy cauliflower soup.  

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(2017 original post) Hi there.  It has been a while, hasn't it.  We made it through not one, but two surgeries for my husband over the past couple of weeks.  I know it is a tough recovery.  I had sinus surgery in 2003 and I missed two weeks of work, but he really had a tough recovery.  After a week and a half of misery, he had to have a second procedure and is now on the mend and feeling better.  

​So what does this have to do with soup, you ask?  A lot actually.  All he wanted to eat after the surgeries was soft foods like mashed potatoes and soup.  After you have nasal surgery, you can only breathe through your mouth until the bandages are removed.  Which means that breathing when you eat is a challenge, hence the desire for soup.  

So we had a lot of soup.  Good thing it's winter and we like soup so much.  This creamy cauliflower soup is one I'm glad to add to my repertoire.  It's creamy, hearty, delicious and I love serving my family a meal that's chock full of vegetables and wonderful flavor.  

So confession time...See those little black flecks in the cauliflower soup (In the thick soup picture), those are burnt onions.  I decided to go ahead and photograph anyway because a.) the soup is fantastic even with burnt onions and b.) we do "real" here.  I make food for my family and do photo shoots in our home (no studio here and I shoot for less than 10 minutes, maybe a dozen shots if I'm lucky) and if our soup has burnt onions we eat it anyway.  Our house is busy with four kids so sometimes I burn things. It's all part of the beautiful, messy life we lead and I wouldn't trade it for anything.   

So if you try your hand at making some creamy cauliflower soup, I'm sure you won't burn the onions like I did.  But if you do enjoy it, burnt onions and all.  

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​Creamy Cauliflower Soup
 
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, grated
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
10 T. butter, divided
Splash cooking Sherry, (optional)
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped or 24 oz. bag cauliflower florets
6 Cups vegetable broth or stock
1 T. dried parsley
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
½ tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. Creole seasoning, (optional)
6 T. flour
1 Cup milk
½ Cup whipping cream
 
1.  Melt 4 T. butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic until tender. 
2.  If you like, add a splash of cooking Sherry to deglaze the pan.  Add cauliflower, vegetable broth, parsley, salt, pepper, basil, and Creole seasoning.  Simmer covered for about 30 minutes. 
3.  While soup is simmering, melt 6 T. butter in a 2 qt. saucepan.   Stir in 6 T. flour, then milk and whipping cream and cook and stir to make a thick white sauce. 
4.  Use a potato masher to mash up the soup, breaking the cauliflower into smaller pieces or an emersion blender to puree the soup.  Then stir in the white sauce and continue to cook and stir until thickened.  

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Yum