Would you believe that I am actually turning into a soup person? I fought it for a very long time. I genuinely thought I didn’t like soup, and because I didn’t like them and had no practice in making them, on the rare occasions that I did make soup it was always bland.
But, I am slowly being converted. And experimenting! What the heck? I don’t even recognize myself anymore! Who am I? Is it the pregnancy hormones? Will this all go away in a month and I’ll turn back into my old soup-hating self?
I hope not. There are a few reasons I’ve started to love soup.
1) It’s cheap. Holy moly is soup ever cheap. Calculating the cost of the ingredients in this recipe, I spent somewhere in the realm of $5. $5 to make 4 servings of soup!! (See #3)
2) It’s easy. I try to be an organized person, and generally speaking, I am. However, along with that, I also think I’m superwoman and often take on too much at once. It happens often with supper. I want to get “just one last thing” done before starting supper, and before you know it, it’s 8 p.m. and I’m just putting food on the table. Personally, I could eat supper at 8 p.m. every night, but hubby prefers a more “normal” dinner hour. With soup, I can start it at any time and let it simmer for as long as I need, which helps me be organized enough to get supper on the table at a decent hour.
3) It can be meatless. I get it, it doesn’t have to be. And no, I’m not vegetarian or vegan – I would have a hard time giving up bacon, eggs and cheese, so it’s not for me. But I don’t eat a ton of meat – it’s not (and hasn’t ever) really been my thing. That being said, meat is expensive (See #1). And let’s face it, we don’t need to eat meat every day – there are plenty of other sources of protein. Hubby is a carnivore most of the time. But with pasta or soup, he’ll eat either of those with no meat in them and be happy.
4) It can be SO healthy. Since I have been sticking mostly to vegetable soups that are broth based…you really can’t get much healthier than that. I try to avoid cream, and if I add milk it’s generally non-dairy.
There you have it: cheap, easy, meatless and healthy.
This soup took an hour to make, including time spent roasting the cauliflower and garlic. Since roasting drastically changes the flavour of both cauliflower and garlic, I wouldn’t recommend skipping that step. If you’re not a garlic lover, you may want to reduce the garlic down to 1 or 2 cloves, since this does have a strong garlic taste (After note: hubby said he could smell garlic on his skin the next day, so he’d probably suggest you cut down to 1). But remember, garlic is good for you!
I used almond milk in this recipe, so feel free to substitute any non-dairy milk and still have good results. This soup is also easily vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. I used thyme as garnish, but it would be equally delicious with rosemary or parsley. You could even throw the herbs in while you’re sautéing the onions, but I was trying to make it less “colourful” so that my picky 3-year-old would try a bite.
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Yield: 4 servings
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- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- ¾ cup milk
- freshly ground salt & pepper to taste
- fresh thyme leaves for garnish (optional)
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread cauliflower and garlic over. Toss with 1 tsp olive oil and roast in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until browned. Turn once during baking. Remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Add cauliflower, garlic, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Add milk and season with salt and pepper. Purée using an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender, until desired consistency is reached.
- Garnish with thyme and serve with crusty bread.
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