Saturday, January 16, 2016

My Mother's Cauliflower Soup



Just before Christmas last year, a posse of my favorite neighborhood gals and I went out to lunch and on a holiday shopping spree. We decided to make one of our stops at the newly opened Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market to have a look around. A look was all that we got. The place was so crowded that, if we didn't want to go where the crowd pushed us, we were pretty much out of luck. We did not stay.

Yesterday I was back in that area and did stop. While The Fresh Market remains my favorite place to shop, this market was not without merit. The spinach feta croissant that I bought for lunch was surprisingly good. The prices on produce were amazing. Parsley, cilantro, radishes, and scallions, all of which I consume with reckless abandon, were only 49 cents a bunch. Dare I say that I got bunches? Both broccoli and cauliflower were $1.49 a head, so heads rolled (right into my cart).

When I got home and happily unloaded all of my vegetable goodies, thoughts of my mother's cauliflower soup popped into my head. It was good, as I recalled, and I asked my dad if he remembered it. He did with fondness, so I had to rummage for the recipe and give it a try.

I love cauliflower in all forms, but Mr. O-P tends to balk at any vegetable with the exception of corn-on-the-cob and green beans, so it speaks volumes that he liked this soup. Using your own chicken stock makes it rich and wonderful, but for vegetarians, I wouldn't shy away from using homemade mushroom or vegetable stock.

This soup is a great winter warmer, and a delicious way to get vegetables into the mouths of haters, and have them love you for it.
 My Mother's Cauliflower Soup

1 medium head cauliflower,
cleaned and broken into bite-sized bits
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
4-1/2 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock
8 fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium stockpot, bring cauliflower, carrots, and celery to a boil in stock. Meanwhile, in a 9-inch saute pan, saute mushrooms and onion in butter until onions are translucent. Add flour, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add one cup of the warm stock to the flour mixture, stirring until thick. Pour mushroom/onion mixture into the cauliflower/carrot/celery broth and stir to combine. Stir in cream, parsley, and pepper to taste. Heat through. Serves 6-8.



This post is linked to:

11 comments:

Mae Travels said...

Your cauliflower soup sounds just wonderful in this cold weather! I often puree around half the vegetables to make a thicker soup. So many variations!
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Linda said...

Mr. O-P sounds very much like someone I know. ;)
Back in the late 1980s I followed the Fit for Life diet for awhile, and one of my favorite things in it was cauliflower soup. Their version was made without dairy and involved boiling the cauliflower and pureeing it. Although my family hated the smell, I loved the soup and the kind of nutty sweetness of it. Your Mom's version looks amazing.

Marigene said...

I love almost any kind of soup...this one looks and sounds delicious, but cauliflower is almost $5 a head around here and I refuse to pay that price, so until it goes down, I will just have to salivate over your pictures, Pattie!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

~~louise~~ said...

National Soup Month has just gotten a whole lot better! I love your Mom's Cauliflower Soup recipe! So many soups are "creamed" which for me these days isn't healthy. I have a feeling if I left the cream out of this soup it would almost be as good!

Thanks so much for sharing, Pattie...Congrats on those "sweet" deals. You lucky girl!!!

P.S. I'll be pinning:)

Deborah Lacy said...

I'm a big soup kick lately and I'll have to try this one soon!

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Love the sound of this recipe and printed it. I love cauliflower with white sauce,
my fav way to eat it, so I am sure I will love this soup. Love to eat soups in
the Winter, and we are having a few cool days here in florida so gotta eat them
while we can..........lol
Thanks for sharing this.

Blessings, Nellie

The Lazy Gastronome said...

I love soup!! This looks delicious. Would love to have you come and share at our party - What's for Dinner

http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-for-dinner-sunday-link-up-27/

Unknown said...

This sounds amazing! I've pinned it!

Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

Unknown said...

This looks delicious! thanks so much for sharing at #merrymonday

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

Looks yummy!
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy

Laura said...

I can't wait to try this recipe! I just put it on next week's menu.