Cauliflower Soup with (or without) Chicken
Cauliflower, onion, garlic, broth, rosemary, and oil. That’s all you need to make the to-die-for cauliflower soup from Lidey Heuck (New York Times) . It’s soup-er easy to whip this up, especially if you have an immersion blender. Serve it with crusty bread, focaccia, or croutons (as written in the recipe) and I promise it will not disappoint. It’s a perfect way to up your veggie intake.
It comes together quickly, so you can make if for a weeknight dinner or you can to make ahead of time when cooking for a crowd. We made this for our Easter Brunch for 4 alongside focaccia, frittata, and salad, then we made it again at Thanksgiving as a first course for our 16 guests! We made it a couple of days ahead, then heated it up in the crockpot for the big day. It was a perfect healthy start to an otherwise decadent meal.
When my sister-in-law tasted this cauliflower soup, she was equally wowed. Amazing cook that she is, she realized it would make a great base for other soups as well. Boy was she right! Adding sauteed carrots and mushrooms and some pre-cooked chicken turned this into a hearty meal jam-packed with veggies and protein. We enjoyed this for dinner one snowy weekend and it was snow-day-stick-to-your-ribs perfection.
Cauliflower Soup with Chicken
Ingredients
Rosemary Oil
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 2-4 sprigs rosemary can sub 1 tsp dried rosemary
Cauliflower Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sized head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
- 1 quart vegetable broth/stock or chicken broth/stock
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- lemon zest from one lemon (optional)
- 1/2 cup bread chopped for croutons (optional)
Chicken and Vegetable variation (optional) *Amounts are flexible! Use what you have on hand
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (approx 2 cups)
- 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken (about half a rotisserie chicken)
Instructions
Rosemary Oil
- In a small skillet or saucepan, combine the olive oil and rosemary sprigs and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Simmer gently and try to avoid frying the rosemary by lowering the heat if the oil reaches a full simmer. Carefully pour the oil and rosemary into bowl or measuring cup. If you plan to make the croutons, leaving a slick of oil in the pan. Leave the oil rosemary in the oil while it cools.
- You will use 1.4 cup of this oil in the soup later on. The rest of the oil will be used for drizzling over the soup when you serve it.
- *If you don't have fresh rosemary, you can substitute dried rosemary in this step, or you can add it in next step when sauteeing the onions.
Make the soup
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. It's ready when you can smell it!
- Add the broth, cauliflower, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.
- Optional: While the soup is cooking, make the croutons by toasting bread cubes in the oily pan from earlier. Add salt and pepper and continue tossing for about 5 minutes until toasted. If you are serving bread with the soup, or are low carb, skip the croutons.
- Optional: While the soup is cooking, saute carrots for 5 minutes in a hot skillet. Add mushrooms (if using) and saute a few minutes more until softened.
- Strain/discard the rosemary stems from the rosemary oil. Add 1.4 cup of rosemary oil to the soup pot. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup on high until creamy. If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the dutch oven ingredients (cauliflower, onions, garlic and stock) to a blender and blend on high until creamy. Add more rosemary oil to taste, and blend to combine. If using a blender, return the soup to the pot. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Optional: Add carrots, mushrooms, and chicken.Let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes. This will thicken the soup a bit. If you feel it is too thick, feel free to add a bit more broth. If it's too thin, continue to cook for a bit longer. The soup will thicken a bit as it cools.
- This soup can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a few days. he soup will thicken as it sits; add more stock as necessary when reheating
- Zest a lemon (optional)
- Serve hot. Garnish each serving with a swirl of rosemary oil, a few croutons, and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Any leftover rosemary oil will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
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