Ok. Honestly, I am new to this whole cooking thing if you think about it. I only really started cooking January 2011. Most of the recipes I make, I end up liking (because I pick recipes that sound good to me). However, I occasionally make recipes that are complete fails… like the beer soup I mentioned in the last post, it was just not good to put it nicely. But every once in a while I stumble onto a recipe that is a game changer.

This roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup was insanely good. It is my favorite recipe of 2012 so far. I can’t even describe to you how much I ended up loving this soup. Sam enjoyed it too. During dinner he would just go “Mmm…. (long pause) Mmmm…” I also want to mention that this was the first time I have ever had cauliflower, and after I roasted the cauliflower in some olive oil, salt and pepper… I almost ate the whole batch just by itself before it even made it into the soup. I might have found a new favorite vegetable in the process of making this soup. Good things happened when this soup was made… and I believe these good things can happen to you too.

Here are the beloved ingredients…

The first thing I did was prep my ingredients, such as, chop up my thyme, chop my onion, grate my cheese, and cut my cauliflower into florets. “Cut your cauliflower into florets?” you say? Ya, I was a little unsure about this (ok, don’t make fun all you cauliflower pros) before I started so I went to you tube. This video did a good job explaining it.

So the first thing I did after prep was toss my cauliflower florets in some olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees F. This alone was so tasty. SO TASTY.

Then I sauteed my onions in my soup pot for about 6 minutes.

After this I added my garlic and thyme and cooked that for about a minute.

Next I added in my vegetable broth and cauliflower florets, brought it to a boil, and then let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes with the lid on.

Once this was done I pureed the soup with my hand blender (my favorite new kitchen tool!), I added in the cheese until it was melted, and then I added in my heavy cream. Make sure you taste your soup before serving and add in salt and pepper until you get it to the exact taste that you like. Adding salt and pepper make such a difference… don’t skip this step. Just add a bit at a time and taste and keep adding if you think it needs it. When it tastes like heaven, then stop.

Next, I put some bread in the oven to make it extra crispy… this became the vehicle of getting the soup inside my mouth. yum.

Now I know this soup looks simple and unassuming, but trust me, it’s packed with flavor. Just do me a favor and try it. I got this recipe from a new blog I stumbled upon called Closet Cooking. I am so glad I stumbled onto this recipe. It is life changing.

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup
This serves about 4 people. We just made it last us two meals.

Ingredients:

✔1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
✔2 tablespoons oil
✔salt and pepper to taste
✔1 tablespoon oil
✔1 medium onion, diced
✔2 cloves garlic, chopped
✔1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
✔3 cups vegetable broth
✔1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
✔1 cup milk or cream
✔salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat.