It’s rainy, wet, and cold outside. The trees are losing leaves, and the sky is dull and thick with marbled grey clouds. A gloomy day, perfect for a delicious bowl of roasted garlic cauliflower soup. This is the kind of soup you eat in front of a fireplace, or intertwined with knitted blankets, wearing thick socks and watching your favorite television show. I really can’t get over how delicious this soup is. You and your loved one will swoon and slurp, and close your eyes in bliss.
Roasting the cauliflower and garlic is so important! It’s why this soup is so damn good.
Cauliflower (like any vegetable) needs salt. Period. You must season your vegetables, guys. They deserve better than bland. The crazy thing about this soup, is that I only had to season the cauliflower and garlic prior to roasting. I didn’t need any additional salt at all. That’s when you know your veggies are perfectly seasoned.
If you’re vegan, there are ways you can make some slight alterations to this recipe and still enjoy it.
I wanted this roasted garlic cauliflower soup to have some extra depth and meatiness, so frying some slices of crimini mushrooms were the perfect topping. You could also roast the mushrooms if you don’t want to fry them. Of course, you could skip the mushrooms altogether or use regular bread croutons — the sky’s the limit.
Here’s our beautiful head of cauliflower
Cut large chunks away from the core.
Then slice those chunks as thinly as you can. Some pieces will naturally fall apart and that’s perfectly fine.
Don’t forget the garlic! You can use as much as you want, but I think 7 extra fat cloves does the trick nicely.
Season your cauliflower and garlic with a generous and even sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper.
Lay everything in a flat even layer. No stacking. We want to make sure every crumb of this cauliflower gets caramelized and toasted in the oven.
You can buy pre-sliced baby bella (crimini) mushrooms, but I prefer buying them whole so I can control how thin/thick they are. Wipe them clean with a damp (not soaking wet) paper towel.
Slice them as thin as you can.
Thirty minutes later, here’s what our cauliflower is lookin like. Great caramelization. Tender, and well seasoned! Let this cool a bit.
With a spatula, gather the cauli crew, and try not to eat it all before it’s soup.
Perfect color. That color = FLAVOR! You do not wanna skip roasting this, trust me.
Dump the cauli into a blender. Add a half-cup of chicken broth just to get it started.
Blend until pureed, adding the broth in stages until you’re happy with the consistency. It should not be watery, but it shouldn’t be thick like mashed potatoes. You’re looking for a velvety texture.
Transfer to a pot and bring it to a simmer. Add some fresh thyme and rosemary.
Add some black pepper.
This is optional, but add just a little splash of half and half. You don’t need much. Cover and let this simmer a good 10-15min on medium-low.
Mushrooms coated in cornstarch.
Fry in batches. This will take about 3 minutes. Your oil should be screaming hot.
It’s gonna bubble like this at first…
Then, as the water from the shrooms evaporates, it’ll settle down like this.
The soup is gently bubbling away. Now its time to taste it. If you seasoned your roasted veggies well enough at first, you won’t need to add more salt. But, only you can determine that. Season away if need be.
Perfect bowls, just enough for two hungry people.
This soup is f*cking amazing. Seriously. The depth of flavor without even having to do much is insane. Roasting >>>> not roasting.
What a sexy bowl. This roasted garlic cauliflower soup is great on it’s own, or as an appetizer to my amazing Herbs de Provence Roasted Chicken, or Honey-Dijon Glazed Holiday Ham.
Rose Gold spoon from SLVRWR. Check them out! Gorgeous stuff.
Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
Description
We roast the garlic and cauliflower together to deepen their flavors, then puree into a silky and rich soup. Topped with crispy fried crimini mushrooms, chives, and fresh thyme. Drizzle with basil oil if you want.
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 head of cauliflower, broken apart and sliced
- 7 large cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Basil oil, to garnish (optional)
For the fried mushrooms
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Break off the stems from the cauliflower head. With a very sharp knife, gently cut large floret chunks from the core. Slice the floret chunks thinly. You will have some pieces that break off into smaller tiny floret heads and that’s totally fine. Lay the cauliflower and whole garlic cloves onto a large sheet pan and drizzle with enough olive oil to thinly coat each piece. It shouldn’t be swimming in oil, but no pieces should be dry. Sprinkle a generous pinch of flaky kosher salt and black pepper all over the cauliflower. It’s important you season it really well at this stage. Make sure the cauliflower and garlic is in an even layer and that each piece is touching the bottom of the sheet pan. They shouldn’t be laying on top of each other.
- Roast the cauliflower and garlic for 30 minutes. You’ll know its ready when it’s tender and golden brown around the edges, and the smaller bits are dark and caramelized. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Scoop all of the roasted garlic and cauliflower into your blender (SEE NOTE), along with 1/2 cup of the 2 cups of chicken stock. Blend to break it down on the lowest setting, then add the remaining chicken stock in stages while increasing the speed/power of the blender. Keep doing this until you reach a creamy, but not too thick/gloopy consistency. You don’t want this soup to be water-thin, but it shouldn’t be mashed-potato-thick either. It should be velvety and coat your spoon.
- When the soup is perfect in consistency, transfer it to a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the fresh thyme and rosemary, and a pinch of black pepper. Continue to heat the soup through for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the half and half, is using, and stir to combine. Continue simmering for another 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Meanwhile, place the sliced mushrooms in a bowl, and toss with the cornstarch. Make sure it’s evenly coated.
- In a small pot, pour in about 1-inch of vegetable oil. Bring the oil to a temperature of 375-385 degrees F. When the oil reaches temperature, gently fry some of the mushrooms (not all) for about 3 minutes, or until the sizzle of the oil settles down. This happens when the water in the mushrooms evaporates. Drain on paper towels and season with a pinch of fine sea salt as soon as they’re out of the oil. Continue frying the mushrooms in batches until done.
- Pour your soup into bowls, and top with the fried mushrooms, and fresh chives. Add a small drizzle of basil oil or plain extra virgin olive oil, and serve immediately. Enjoy.
Notes
If you don’t have a high powered blender, you can use a hand-held blender or food processor instead.
This recipe can be doubled to serve four people.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: soups and stews
Keywords: soup, cauliflower soup, roasted cauliflower soup, meals for 2
We just made this recipe tonight and it is so amazimg! I’m glad my instincts told me to double the recipe!! It’s perfect for a chilly night and super easy to make. Thank you 🙂
★★★★★
Adding this to my winter soup rotation ?
Yes! Enjoy 🙂