This cauliflower soup is so creamy that you won’t believe that there isn’t a drop of cream in it! The brown butter cauliflower “croutons” add an extra pop of flavor. This soup is super easy to make, and one of my favorites.
I am a bonafide member of the “I love Cauliflower” fan club. I love cauliflower roasted, pureed, steamed– but I especially like cauliflower as as a creamy soup. This recipe is unique, because there is no cream involved. Nada. Zip. There is no chicken stock, either. This recipe uses water but you would never guess that. The big “ta-da” are the cauliflower “croutons” and a splash of I’ve made this recipe numerous times and it’s always perfect. Best of all — it’s low carb!
Today, being Labor Day Weekend, I can start thinking about my favorite type of Fall cooking– braising meats, making stews, baking bread and making soups for dinner. Fortunately, our climate rarely gets into the trip-digit temps that many of my East Coast and Southwestern friends endure. Plus, I do a lot of pressure cooking so that the kitchen stays nice and cool.
With our average temps in the low 70’s, I had no problem making this fabulous soup, this summer. I loved it so much, that I’ve made it a few times. With the exception of the cauliflower “croutons” that are cooked in browned
butter, this soup is low-fat– and there is no chicken stock nor cream, in it!
One of my favorite Cooking Magazine is “Cook’s Illustrated” and I also subscribe to their website, so I can watch their videos, on demand. This is where I saw this recipe, and here is CI’s explanation of the recipe:
For a creamy cauliflower soup without cream, we relied on cauliflower’s low insoluble fiber content to produce a velvety smooth puree. To ensure that cauliflower flavor remained at the forefront, we cooked the cauliflower in seasoned water (instead of broth), skipped the spice rack entirely, and bolstered the soup with sautéed onion and leek. We added the cauliflower to the simmering water in two stages so that we got the grassy flavor of just-cooked cauliflower and the sweeter, nuttier flavor of long-cooked cauliflower. Finally, we fried florets in butter until both browned and used each as a separate, richly flavored garnish.
As you can see, I trimmed the “core” of the cauliflower and sliced it thin. No waste!
“Creamless” Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower 2-pounds
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
- 1 leek white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
- 1 small onion halved and sliced thin
- Salt and pepper
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh chives minced
Instructions
- Pull off outer leaves of cauliflower and trim stem.
- Using paring knife, cut around core to remove; thinly slice core and reserve.
- Cut heaping 1 cup of 1/2-inch florets from head of cauliflower; set aside. Cut remaining cauliflower crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; cook, stirring frequently, until leek and onion are softened but not browned, about 7 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium-high; add 4 1/2 cups water, sliced core, and half of sliced cauliflower; and bring to simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Add remaining sliced cauliflower, return to simmer, and continue to cook until cauliflower is tender and crumbles easily, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
- While soup simmers, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add reserved florets and cook, stirring frequently, until florets are golden brown and butter is browned and imparts nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to transfer florets to small bowl. Toss florets with vinegar and season with salt to taste. Pour browned butter in skillet into small bowl and reserve for garnishing.
- Process soup in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds.
- Rinse out pan. Return pureed soup to pan and return to simmer over medium heat, adjusting consistency with remaining water as needed (soup should have thick, velvety texture but should be thin enough to settle with flat surface after being stirred) and seasoning with salt to taste.
- Serve, garnishing individual bowls with browned florets, drizzle of browned butter, and chives and seasoning with pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
I am just amazed that this creamy looking soup contains no cream. You could have fooled me! Hope you get to feeling better Debby. With fall in the air and some rain, perhaps things will change for the better. In the meantime, take care.
Sam
We had our first rainfall in weeks yesterday. The air smell so clean and fresh and my yard already shows signs of perking up a little bit. My grass is like yours – brown as a paper bag. I'm so happy you are feeling better, Debby. Getting back into the kitchen is a good sign. I've missed you. The temperature is down where it should be today and I'm getting ready to stick a pot roast into the oven. I miss my comfort foods.
Glad to hear that you are feeling better. This soup looks like a keeper for later fall. Still a bit too warm here to be thinking about soup – or baking, so I just park the ideas. Will dig into them from October, when the rains begin. -C.
Talk about comfort food, this is the ultimate with croutons!
So glad you're back and feeling better. You've been missed. Hope the Farmer's Almanac is right! This soup looks amazingly creamy for having none. Stay well!
I'm glad you're starting to feel better. The cauliflower "croutons" really make this soup extra special.
Aww I'm sorry to hear you weren't feeling well! Hope things are getting better.
Love this creamy without the cream soup!
Life happens. Glad you are feeling better and are getting back into the kitchen to share your fabulous food with us.
This is a great recipe.
Velva
The recipe looks awesome and so different. Can't wait to try it.