pureed cauliflower soup with coriander

I had two heads of that bright yellow cauliflower from Saturday’s market (I think they call it “Cheddar”), and I didn’t yet have a plan for it… I found a recipe for a pureed cauliflower soup in an old back issue of Cook’s Illustrated, but it had milk in it. In my experience, adding milk or cream to a soup can make it taste yummy, but it really mutes the flavors of the vegetables in it—and I want to highlight the taste of the vegetable, since we’ve got such fabulous fresh produce! So I’ve just invented a dairy-free version that I absolutely LOVE!!  It’s sort of a stealthy kind of a soup—who would think it could be SO good and creamy and luscious, without milk or cream? But it is! And great flavor, too, thanks to the onions, roasted garlic, and white wine.  And the color of the orange cauliflower made the soup this delicious light-apricot color! Isn’t it fun? I don’t recommend using the purple cauliflower for this recipe, but it would be interesting to see if you’d get lavender-colored soup—and then, if it would be appetizing. You could serve it with a side of roasted purple potatoes! Let me know if you try it!

This recipe is easy, but it’s REALLY easy if you already have a couple of the key ingredients. I had vegetable stock & white bean cooking liquid in my freezer already, so I used a combination of them to make the soup. If you use store-bought stock, make sure you use one you really like the taste of, because the cauliflower is pretty mild—so you’ll want to use stock that won’t overpower it.  But I just want to take a minute and encourage you to try making your own vegetable stock—it’s so easy to do, it’s quick, very cheap, and when we’re able to get such delicious celery and carrots at the market right now, it’s really a no-brainer. I’ll put the super-easy recipe at the end of this recipe, so you can do it if you feel inspired. I always do a HUGE pot of vegetable stock at a time, and freeze lots for future soups.

I happened to have an extra bulb of roasted garlic in my refrigerator, so I squeezed out the cloves, mashed it up and stirred it in, just for fun—and I think it’s very successful—but I wouldn’t have roasted it up just for this recipe. You may already have a pint jar of the “roasted” garlic from the infused olive oil in your refrigerator… use some of that!  Or just leave it out—the soup will still taste great.

And one more thing—a good blender is a great investment. Using a food processor to puree this soup will probably make a huge mess, plus it won’t get it nearly as smooth as a good blender will. I use my blender all the time for salad dressings and soups.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
sea salt or kosher salt
¼ cup white wine
2 medium heads cauliflower, stems discarded and florets cut into bite-sized pieces
8 cups vegetable stock (see recipe below, or low-sodium if store-bought)
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (you can grind the whole seeds with the coriander)
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds, lightly toasted in a skillet, then ground in a coffee grinder, OR, 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
1 head of roasted garlic, or the equivalent in olive-oil poached garlic (optional), mashed
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2 teaspoons minced fresh chives , or minced parsley

1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ½ teaspoon of salt and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add white wine and stir-cook until the wine evaporates, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the cauliflower, stock, salt, pepper, coriander, and roasted garlic to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 12 minutes.
3. Let the soup cool for a while, then ladle the cauliflower mixture into blender in batches. Don’t overfill the blender as you do this. Then blend until very smooth. Return soup to soup pot and cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in a bit of water or stock to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.)
4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced chives and serve immediately.

basic vegetable stock
I always make a big batch of this very easy stock, and then freeze the extra. You can make a half batch if you like, but why would you want to? Don’t be tempted to boil it longer than 30 minutes—it can turn bitter, and it doesn’t need any longer than that, anyway.

2 large onions
6 large carrots
6 celery ribs
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
16 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
16 parsley branches
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 12 sprigs of fresh thyme)
4 bay leaves
sea salt or kosher salt

1. Scrub the vegetables and chop them roughly into 1-inch chunks. Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the vegetables and herbs and 1 teaspoon salt and cook over high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. The more color they get, the richer the flavor of the stock.
2. Add 2 more teaspoons salt and 4 quarts of cold water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain.