this recipe comes from a cookbook david brought me back from his summer in ireland. the first page i flipped to i saw this recipe and the pull i instantly felt to it was magnetic. sometimes that happens to me with cookbooks. one dish will woo me to the point that no other recipes will interest me until i complete it. case in point, i already made an irish stew from this cookbook and all while i was preparing it i was thinking about cauliflower cheese soup. seriously, take a peak at my rambling internal dialogue.
{wait, why am i making this? it's 85 degrees out. i bet that soup would taste great in any weather... uh, this is taking forever, soup would've been so much faster... well, ya, it's delicious, but i feel like it's missing something... maybe if it tasted more like cauliflower and cheddar cheese? maybe if its texture was smooth and creamy, like, i don't know, soup?}
yes, i was emotionally cheating on my irish stew, it's true, and i'm not proud of it. so i thought that i better make this fast before i take unfair advantage of another avoca cafe recipe. once a cheater, always a cheater.
cauliflower cheddar soup.
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 cups {preferably homemade} vegetable stock
- 1 cauliflower, divided into small florets
- 6 oz mature cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup whole milk
- heavy cream
- salt + fresh cracked pepper, tt
- scallions, finely chopped {for garnish; optional}
- gently saute onion and potato in butter over a very low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. add the stock and cauliflower. season with salt and pepper.
- bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the veggies are cooked through.
- puree, either with an immersion blender or a regular blender, then return soup to pan and bring back to a boil. remove from heat and stir in the cheddar and milk. reheat gently, adjust your seasoning.
- serve topped with a spoonful of cream and/or scallions, if using.
