Cream of Cauliflower Soup

So, my first ever blog and I'm proud that its one of my own recipes and not something I stole from someone else! Yay! All credits to me. Mind you, nothing flash, just soup. But awesome soup. Just ask my friend Liz!

So, here goes.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

First, I checked the fridge for my veggie supplies. I pulled out 

1 carrot

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

A huge zucchini

1 head of cauliflower

2 large potatoes

2 big mushrooms

Couple of sticks of celery

I like to use as many veg as possible but the soup should be a creamy white colour, so not too much green and not too much orange. I would have thrown a leek into the mix, had I had one here.

So, I washed the veg and roughly chopped and threw the whole lot into my big stock pot with a large chunk of butter. Real butter. Maybe 50g.

Turned the heat up high and browned the veg - I cooked until the veg were just starting to turn soft. Maybe 10 mins - stirring regularly, getting it all moving around in the pot. Then I threw in about 200ml white wine - nothing fancy. I just used a clearskin Chardonnay. Kept the heat up high and let that reduce - get the flavour but burn off the alcohol. I also added some salt & pepper, but only a pinch of salt cause I'm using stock cubes in this one.

Add 1.5 litres of chicken stock. I cheated and used stock cubes (I use Massel brand cause they're gluten free and MSG free, and vegan, for those who prefer a vegan stock). So, I used 1.5 litres of water and 3 stock cubes. You could easily use homemade stock or vegetable stock but, personally, I like chicken stock in this soup as it adds a depth of flavour. I just didn't have time today to make my own stock.

I let the veggies simmer on low heat in the stock for ages. I just left mine in the stove (with a lid on) simmering while I went about doing homework with my son, bringing in washing blah blah blah. Probably simmered for a hour or more but it only really needs to simmer until the veg are all soft. 

Next: pull out the bamix and blend the lot until smooth.  

After it was all smooth I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and about 200ml thickened cream (both optional) and stirred it through. Voila

Cream of Cauliflower soup. Deliciously thick and creamy and just a little decadent. Perfect for a winter's night served with some crusty breadrolls and a sprinkle of parsley (both of which I forgot to get tonight). 

I did however serve the soup over pasta for my littlies: they think its pasta carbonara (wink wink). 

No pasta for the adults though. It's just perfect as is!