WISCONSIN CAULIFLOWER CHEDDAR SOUP

Recipe Rating:	5 Ratings5
Categories:	Quick & Easy, Vegetable Soup
Serves:	6 - 8
Prep Time:	20 Min
Cook Time:	30 Min

Ingredients

1/2 stk	unsalted butter
1/4 c	diced onion
1/4 c	flour
1 tsp	salt
14 1/2 oz	low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 c	water
1	cauliflower head, about 2.5 pounds, cut in small pieces
2 c	2% milk
1 tsp	dijon mustard
8 oz	extra sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups shredded)

Pinched by mackamum, and 201 more.

Terrie Hoelscher

Well Seasoned

Harpers Ferry, WV (pop. 286)

Blessed1

Member Since Sep 2010

Terrie's Notes:

This is the BEST soup I've ever eaten, bar none! You could also make it substituting broccoli or brussels sprouts for the cauliflower. Even ppl who do not like cauliflower tell me they LOVE this soup ....

Directions

NOTE: It helps to have everything pre-measured and lined up before you start, so you're not running all over the kitchen cutting and measuring, instead of paying attention to the stove. LOL!

In large non-stick saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.

Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't let it burn!

Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your roux; don't let it stick or burn!

Gradually stir in chicken broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. When smooth, slowly add the 1-1/2 cups of water, continuing to stir.
Add cauliflower pieces and heat to a very light simmer. Cover and turn heat to LOW, to a bare simmer, until cauliflower is very tender, at least 20 minutes. Stir FREQUENTLY.
When cauliflower is very tender and mushy, add the milk and stir it in well. Bring entire mixture back up to temperature, but do not boil or allow milk to scorch.

In a blender [with inner lid of cover removed to allow steam to escape], blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches, until very smooth.
NOTE: You might prefer to leave some of the cauliflower florettes in there, instead of pureeing all of them. I save some aside, and just give them one quick mash w/ a hand masher. That leaves a little bit of 'texture' to the soup. But it is excellent in its pureed form, too.

Return the entire mixture to saucepan; bring back up to temperature, until hot, stirring frequently. Don't let it boil.

Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in dijon and 1-1/2 cups of the cheese until melted and smooth.

Serving Ideas: Garnish soup with remaining cheese and serve right away with a hearty salad.
Serve with a warm, thick, chewy baguette. Great for a bread dipper!

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 225 Calories; 16g Fat (64.9% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 50mg Cholesterol; 593mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : Use a cauliflower that is about 2.5 pounds.
8-ounces of shredded cheese = 2 cups.

Comments

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Wendy Rusch snooksk9

Nov 1, 2010

You had me at Wisconsin................. :)

Annette Norris Aniella

Nov 4, 2010

This sounds really, really good! Thanks for sharing it!

Terrie Hoelscher Blessed1

Nov 4, 2010

It IS .... I've told others, it's so good I could put my face down in it and just slurp it up. haha! Gonna try it again tonight, I think, but I'm gonna try it w/ broccoli.
My husband and I ate this at Zupa's, in Salt Lake City, UT, and I don't think I've ever had a better soup. So I searched and searched and tweaked and played w/ some recipes, and this is what I came up with, as close as possible to Zupa's. One of the recipes also calls for some shredded pepperjack cheese, but I didn't use it. Could give it an interesting flair, tho?
It's a cold, rainy day here in WV, so soup is definitely on the menu tonight! :)