I experimented with several Cauliflower Soup recipes before I arrived at this particular recipe. This soup is a hybrid, of sorts, that merges several different Cauliflower Soup recipes together… All based on things I have learned from the Pioneer Woman’s cookbooks, of course! So, to Ree Drummond goes all the glory, but I get to eat the food! This is a savory and creamy comfort soup, that I believe you will love;
What you’ll need, aka. INGREDIENTS:
1 stick Butter, divided
2 Cauliflower Heads, roughly chopped
1.5 cups Onion, finely diced
2 cups Carrot, finely diced
1 cup Celery, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh Parsley, chopped
2 quarts Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
2 cups Whole Milk
6 tablespoons Flour
1 cup Half-and-Half
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Sour Cream, room temperature, for serving
How to make it, aka. INSTRUCTIONS:
Start by cutting one of the cauliflower heads into quarters, then cut out the core, discarding it and all the green parts. Repeat with the other cauliflower head.
Roughly chop both cauliflower heads, and then chop and measure the other vegetables. I gave “measurement amounts” on my ingredients list because not all onions, carrots, and celery stalks are the same size. I used 1 onion (=1.5 cups), 3 carrots (=2 cups), and 4 celery stalks (=1 cup). Also, 2 tablespoons of fabulous, freshly chopped, parsley.
Melt 1/2 of the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat, and toss in the onion. Cook the onion for about 3 minutes, until it becomes translucent.
Add the carrots and celery…
Give them a good stir, and let them cook for a few minutes.
Now it’s time for the step that puts the word “Cauliflower” in the phrase “Cauliflower Soup”… Seriously though, add the cauliflower.
And give your mixture a good stir… At this point, I realized that I had made a mistake; my pot didn’t seem big enough… So, I made a tough decision… and did something that you probably shouldn’t do… I poured my mixture into a larger pot.
See, much larger… However, later I realized my original pot would have worked just fine, oh well. Now I know.
Cover the pot and let the mixture cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, throw in the parsley…
Then add the chicken broth, give the mixture a stir, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Now, you need to make white sauce; so toss the remaining 1/2 stick of butter into a sauce pan over medium heat. Measure out 2 cups of whole milk in a bowl or large measuring cup.
Add 6 tablespoons of flour to the whole milk…
And whisk to mix the whole milk and flour together.
Pour the whole milk/flour mixture into the pan with the melted butter.
And whisk the mixture, it should start thickening, almost immediately.
Now, add 1 cup of half-and-half to the white sauce, and whisk to mix.
And, you guessed it; pour the white sauce into the soup mixture.
Give the soup a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. (I like pepper in this soup; so I add a tiny little bit of salt, and a ton of pepper.) After a good mix, allow the soup to simmer for 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to meld, and will help the soup thicken slightly.
After 30 minutes your soup should be looking pretty fabulous. Almost good enough to eat! Actually, you could eat it at this point… But there are a few more steps.
Now, very carefully, transfer approximately 4 cups of the soup into a blender and blend it…
Then add it back to the soup pot. This makes the soup just a tad bit thicker, and I really like the texture that the blended mixture gives the soup. VARIATIONS: (1.) For a smoother and thicker soup you can blend the entire mixture. (2.) For a thinner soup, with big pieces of cauliflower, simply don’t blend anything at all.
Now, let the mixture simmer for an additional 10 minutes. During this time you can make a couple grilled three-cheese sandwiches, like I do; grilled sourdough bread with Colby Jack cheese, white cheddar cheese, and grated parmesan cheese. Yum!
Now, get out the bowls you will be serving your soup in. Add a dollop of room temperature sour cream to the bottom of each bowl.
And ladle the soup on top of the sour cream.
Stir gently to combine the soup and the sour cream and serve with warm rolls, biscuits, or grilled cheese sandwiches, like me.
It’s creamy, and savory, and the cauliflower is soft, and chunky… chunky is a good thing, I promise… It’s amazing.
Really, I love it! And I hope you do too.
Cook Long and Prosper! Love, the Uncustomary Housewife
Uncustomary Housewife 
Yum