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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup (No Dairy)

Here’s a first-time recipe at The Frog & PenguINN. It was made for two reasons — cauliflower and fresh mushrooms were on sale at the local supermarket this week and I needed to find a way to use both at one time, while still fresh.cauliflower soup1024 (1)

Searching various recipe sites online and our own cookbooks yielded many variations from roasting the cauliflower first, cooking it in water, or adding cream. This recipe used only chicken broth as the liquid base, although you could add some dairy for a creamier texture (see below). The mushrooms and cauliflower together made a naturally rich, thick broth. This recipe is gluten-free if you use broth and oil labeled as such.

Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup (No Dairy)

  • 1 head of cauliflower shopped into florets
  • 3 C mushrooms, sliced, your choice (button, shitake, portabella)
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4-6 C low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp ground white or black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 TBSP dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 TBSP cooking oil, your choice (olive, canola, vegetable)
  1. Sauté garlic and onion in oil until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add cauliflower, mushrooms and seasonings; sauté for another 5 minutes.cauliflower soup1024 (5)
  3. Add 4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is fork tender, 20-30 minutes.
  4. Pour soup into a heat proof blender, reserving some pieces of cauliflower and mushrooms if you want a chunkier soup. Better yet use a stick (immersion) blender. It’s easier and there’s much less cleanup.cauliflower soup1024 (6)
  5. Blend until smooth, return to pan to reheat. If soup is too thick, add more broth after blending and stirring well. Ladle into soup cups or bowls and enjoy.

Dairy to add some creaminess (optional)

After blending soup, return to pot and stir in:

  • ¼ to ½ C heavy cream or half and half cauliflower soup1024 (9)

This recipe was so easy that Grenville has (can you guess what’s coming) declared it another “keeper.” We served it with a sandwich of pulled pork as we had frozen leftovers from a recent Sunday dinner. It would also be great with some crusty bread and a side salad.

8 comments:

Emma Springfield said...

Mmmmm. this sounds so good. And it is low carb too.

Anvilcloud said...

Hmmm ... cauliflowers are in now, and you have just reminded me that I also have a nice recipe for cauliflower soup. Somewhere.

MadSnapper said...

looks like the perfect lunch to me

Montanagirl said...

The weather is getting chillier here. 30 degrees this morning. Time for home made Chili, Stews, etc.

Out on the prairie said...

very nice soup. I like creamed better than chunky

Leonora said...

Thanks for sharing this delicious looking recipe. We lactose intolerant people appreciate it : )
(And I love cauliflower!)

Diana said...

wow that sounds wonderful. Hope you are doing well. Love your new blog look. I liked the old one too. So nice to talk to you. love,Diana

Unknown said...

I just saw this and plan to copy and try it; I always look for new ways to use cauliflower but have never made a soup. It's soup weather here too. This looks like it will fit in nicely with the lower fat lifestyle I'm living.