Cauliflower and Extra Old Soup

Highland Lass's Note:

A few years of experimentation later and I believe I got it just right - a simple yet substantial cold weather soup. For a sophisticated twist, try it with Stilton cheese and port.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 medium onion , finely chopped
• 1 carrot , finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery , finely chopped
• 1 head cauliflower , separated into florets
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (leaves only)
• 5 cups vegetable stock or 5 cups chicken stock (homemade or low sodium)
• 1 cup 10% cream or 1 cup carnation 2% evaporated milk
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ cups of extra old white cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In large pot over medium heat, sauté onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until onion is translucent.
2. Add cauliflower and thyme to pot and pour in the stock.
3. Cover and bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook until cauliflower is tender.
5. Remove pot from heat.
6. Working in batches, puree the mixture in a food processor or blender and return to the pot (I prefer it slightly chunky).
7. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the cream, dry mustard, Dijon and cheddar.
8. Heat thoroughly but do not let the soup boil.
9. If you find the soup a bit thick at this point, add a little stock or water.
10. Add salt (if necessary) and pepper.
11. Serve.
12. A pleasant variation: Substitute 1 cup of thinly sliced leeks for the onion and 1 1/2 cups of crumbled Stilton for the cheddar; add 3 tablespoons of Tawny port and garnish with freshly chopped chives.

Reviews

[Mirj]

This is a creamy, silky, yummy soup! It's perfect for those of us on a low-carb diet. I used vegetable stock and real full fat cream. Left out the carrot and used two huge onions! I pureed the soup right in the pot with an immersion blender (known in our house as The Stick). Pay close attention to Step #8, do not let the soup boil, it can burn on the bottom of your pot. This reheats beautifully in the microwave. I can't wait to try a version with chopped leeks and maybe a little smoked mozzarella.

[Cookie16]

Delicious!! The only change I made was to add a few broccoli florets because the cauliflower I had was very small. We enjoyed this and I am looking forward to leftovers. Thanks!

[Kathleen Constance]

This is really easy to make. I like the flavours, particularly the dijon, although I only added 1 tablespoon of the dijon as I wanted to see what that would taste like before I considered adding more. I think I'll leave it at the 1 tbsp as that flavour level works for me. I also used skim milk (1/2 a cup) instead of the cream or evaporated milk, and it worked well. How much milk you use would depend on how thick you wanted it. The soup was tasty and I'll make it again!