Cream of Cauliflower Soup 花菜奶油浓汤

【Cream of Cauliflower Soup】
by Maomao Dad

My wife and son do not like the texture of cauliflower. They prefer broccoli instead. When I travelled back to my hometown of Fuzhou a few years ago, I found the light green colored cauliflower. It doesn’t have the usual mushy texture, and is perfect for stir-fry. However you don’t expect to see that in Ottawa.

When I was grocery shopping last weekend, I saw fresh looking cauliflowers on sale at Farm Boy. Couldn’t resist them, I picked one and thought about making a cream of cauliflower soup to please Maomao. I remember that he had it once at a restaurant and liked it.

I was able to find a few good recipes from allrecipes.com. Here is the one with the ingredients that I have on hand.

Meal type: Soup
Prepare time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Level: Easy
Serves: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
½ large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, cubed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth + ½ can water
½ large head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup homo milk or 10% heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper or ground cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ tablespoon dry sherry (optional)
½ tablespoon chopped fresh or dry parsley
½ cup shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese

Directions:

1: In a non-stick large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2: Stir in potato and carrot pieces and cook 5 minutes more. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3: Pour in 1 can chicken broth and ½ can water. Bring to a boil.

4: Stir in cauliflower, cover the lid. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

5: Pour the contents into another large container. Puree in 3-4 batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender.

6: Return to the non-stick pot over low heat. Stir in 1 cup milk or cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry.

7: Stir in shredded cheese and heat until melted.

8: Serve garnished with parsley.

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