Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup with Parmesan Croutons

I often say that I could live on salads during the summer months and on soup during the chilly months {with maybe a casserole thrown in every now and then for good measure}. I've shared with you an abundance of soup recipes over the past five years here on Joyously Domestic. Recently, I posted a collection of Fourteen Tantalizing and Comforting Soup Recipes and it took off like wildfire here on the blog and on social media. So, I know I'm not alone in my adoration of soup.

Now, with that said, I understand that not everyone particularly digs cauliflower. But, even if you insist that it is the evilest of vegetables, I think you may be a bit surprised at just how amazing it is roasted and spun into a creamy soup. Seriously.

Just the roasted cauliflower alone almost did me in. I had to restrain myself from eating half of the batch when it came out of the oven ... before the soup-making process had really even gotten off of the ground. {I'll definitely have to randomly roast up a slew of cauliflower florets more often just for snacking purposes. For sure.}

The fabulous news about this soup? It is quite healthful. Can you believe the recipe has ZERO butter, milk or cream? It's, basically, a combo of cauliflower, garlic and chicken stock with a few seasoning components. {And, if you really wanna be healthy, I guess one could omit the croutons. But, I would not recommend it, friends.}

NOTE:  Know that the recipe as written only yields four smaller-sized servings. {This soup isn't necessarily one that a big, whopping bowl is needed at one sitting as it's somewhat decadent and rich in taste and texture. It's a pretty easy recipe to double, however, to feed a larger crowd if needed.

Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients:

FOR THE SOUP -

6 cloves garlic, skins on
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and broken/cut into florets/chunks
Kosher salt
Black pepper
3 - 4 cups chicken stock
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
Freshly-ground nutmeg, for garnish
Fresh thyme, parsley or chives, for garnish {as desired}

FOR THE CROUTONS -

2 heaping cups day-old crusty bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated good-quality Parmesan cheese
Black pepper

Directions:

TO MAKE SOUP -

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Place garlic cloves on a small square of foil. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil. Gather sides of foil and fold up to create a sealed pouch. Place on oven rack. Roast for 15 minutes or until cloves are just soft. {Do not allow to burn or darken too deeply.}

Meanwhile, spread cauliflower florets onto a parchment paper-lined large baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes in the same oven as garlic. Remove from oven and transfer cauliflower to a soup pot.

Add 3 cups stock to pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

When garlic is roasted, remove from oven, carefully open pouch and squeeze cloves from their skins into soup pot.

Cook until cauliflower is completely tender - about ten minutes. Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth. If soup is too thick for your liking, stir in up to one additional cup of stock. {Return pot to heat as needed if additional stock is added.}

Stir in mustard. Season with salt and/or pepper as needed.

TO MAKE CROUTONS -

After cauliflower and garlic have been removed from oven, decrease temperature to 375 degrees. Toss bread cubes in a medium bowl with olive oil, Parmesan and pepper. Spread onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes or until slightly crisp.

TO SERVE -

Serve warm in small bowls topped with a sprinkling of croutons, freshly-ground nutmeg and herbs {if desired}.



Recipe inspired by Clinton Kelly/The Chew.