Ditch the dairy for a more flavourful cauliflower soup
This time of year, with the weather getting colder, I like to serve soup for supper. It’s an easy sell at my house, because we all love soup. But with a soup this good, I firmly believe you can sell it to anyone. The trick is to amp up the flavour, vary the texture and make it substantial.
Here I started by roasting — not boiling — the cauliflower. Roasting eliminates excess water, brings the natural sugars to the fore and concentrates the flavours (adding some nuttiness in the process). Next, I make sure not to obscure the cauliflower’s flavour with too many other ingredients. Yes, there is onion and garlic, but they play only supporting roles. Likewise, the stock, diluted with water, is designed not to overwhelm. The greens — because they’re not puréed and not added until the very end — pack a satisfying little punch of their own without compromising the cauliflower taste.
You may notice there’s no dairy in this recipe. While it’s true that dairy adds luxuriousness to a soup’s texture, it also tends to blot out flavour, particularly delicate vegetable flavours. That’s why I almost always leave it out.
Similarly, there’s no flour or cornstarch here. This soup owes its rich thickness to the puréeing of some of the cauliflower, onion and garlic in the company of a lone Yukon Gold potato (for silkiness). I’d always rather thicken a soup by puréeing some of its ingredients than by adding flour or another starch. Starchy thickeners are distracting.
The right tool for puréeing a soup is a blender. Neither a food processor nor an immersion blender will make it quite as smooth. Just take care not to pack the blender with too much hot soup at a time. Fill it no more than a third full for each batch, otherwise you may end up wearing it (and that can burn!).
At the end of the recipe, to provide some crunchy contrast to the creamy base, I added roasted cauliflower florets. Finally, there are those garlicky cheese rye toasts — Yum! — that contribute yet more crunch as well as big flavour, whether you tear them up and toss the pieces into the soup or happily munch them on the side.
The finished product is a tasty, hearty, healthy and affordable soup for supper. And if you use vegetable broth, it’s vegetarian, too. Either way, it’s fully capable of standing on its own, or with just a small salad.
Roasted Cauliflower and Greens Soup with Cheesy Rye Toasts
Start to finish: 1 hour Makes: Four servings
1 head cauliflower (about 2 1/2 lbs.) 3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided Kosher salt 1 cup sliced yellow onion 2 tsp minced garlic 1 medium Yukon Gold potato (about 3 to 4 oz), thinly sliced 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 2 cups water 5 oz baby greens (such as kale, spinach, arugula, mustard or a mix) 1 Tbsp lemon juice Ground black pepper 4 slices rye bread 1 oz grated Parmesan cheese Heat the oven to 450 F. Cut off and discard the tough bottom of the cauliflower stem. Separate 3 cups of small cauliflower florets (each about 1.3 centimetres in diameter) and set aside. Cut the rest of the cauliflower into 2.5-centimetre pieces, then mound them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of salt. Toss well to coat, then spread in an even layer. Roast on middle shelf, stirring once or twice, until golden brown at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the potato, the roasted cauliflower, the broth and water. Simmer the mixture until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, on the rimmed sheet pan, toss the reserved florets with 2 tsp of oil and about 1/4 tsp of salt. Roast until they are golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the hot soup in small batches to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan, stir in the greens and simmer until wilted and tender, about five minutes. Add the roasted florets and cook for one minute. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Adjust consistency, as desired, with an additional splash or two of water.
Brush the rye bread with the remaining tablespoon of oil and toast on the oven’s middle shelf until golden, about five minutes. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the toasts and return to the oven and bake for another two minutes. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve each portion with a toast.