Keep cozy with this creamy cauliflower soup. This simple dish is packed with flavor and ultra comforting!
So many places are still wrapped up in snow. We recently had some snow where I am, too. It's hard to believe that spring is supposedly on its way. I still find myself seeking out as much comfort food as possible. Soup has, and always will be, one of my favorite cold weather comfort foods. I have not met a type of soup I did not like. So, it comes as no surprise that I would go for soup when I want some comforting.
And this cookbook, Cali'flour Kitchen had just the soup for me to try (the book is amazing and inventive, but does use a ton of cauliflower pizza crusts to make most of the recipes). Cauliflower is still an incredibly popular food these days. I admit, I never fully got into the trend (but I did try this creamy cauliflower cause from another blogger that is pretty amazing and these crispy buffalo cauliflower florets that were pretty life-changing), but I am fully supportive of it. Especially with this creamy cauliflower soup.
At first, I was a little hesitant because we use a lot of fennel in the recipe, which hasn't been my favorite vegetable on the planet. But it works surprisingly well here in this soup. I was most excited about the use of the saffron because I don't get to use saffron often, plus it gave their creamy cauliflower soup such a beautiful hue.
Honestly though, the best part about this soup is how quick and easy it is to make. All it requires is some chopping, frying, then blending. At the end of it all, I was left standing there wondering if it was possible that I did something wrong because of how fast it all went.
To make sure the soup was extra creamy, I used my high powered blender on its soup mode to blend the soup. But you can get great results with any blender or immersion blender.
The soup is easily made vegan if you use a milk alternative in the recipe, which I love. But you can also use milk or cream if that's not important to you.
You can freeze this creamy cauliflower soup to enjoy later. I actually recommend freezing in ice cube trays first, then transferring to an airtight container. The smaller size of the cubes makes it faster to melt thaw and reheat the frozen soup. It should keep for up to a month in the freezer. I've kept this soup in my deep freezer for a few months with no change to the quality of the soup.
I recommend experimenting with a variety of toppings. Croutons, extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, or some of the leftover fennel make great toppings. If you want to add more protein, food such as crispy chickpeas do just that while also adding crunch. If you want more soup inspiration, check out my roasted carrot soup!
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- ⅛ teaspoon saffron I doubled it when I made it
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 fennel bulb cored, sliced, fronds chopped
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry optional, I did not use
- 1 head cauliflower chopped
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Bloom the saffron. The cookbook recommend mixing it with a splash of hot water, but I bloomed mine by placing it on an ice cube and allowing it to fully melt.
- Add the oil to a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the onion and fennel, then cook until the onion is translucent and the fennel is soft.
- Add the sherry, if using, along with the cauliflower, stock, coconut milk, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and saffron (along with the melted ice water). Cook until the cauliflower is softened.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender in batches and blend until completely pureed. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender.
- Serve with any toppings you like, such as a drizzle of olive oil, fennel fronds, and more.
Rose Mary George says
Comforting!