As the days turn colder, I find myself craving comforting tea–like chai and vanilla, and warm soup–like pumpkin, butternut squash and cauliflower.
This has to be one of the easiest soups to prepare, and family and guests universally like it. It looks and tastes elegant enough to serve as a starter course for a sit-down dinner party, but because it’s so simple and unfussy, you can make it any day of the week for any eating occasion.
This soup can also be made dairy-free with no change in appearance or taste. In fact, I think it tastes best made with a little coconut milk, but almond or regular cow’s milk work, too.
Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced or crushed
1 tbsp butter or ghee (clarified butter if you’re avoiding dairy)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small- to medium-sized head of cauliflower, leaves and tough center stalk removed, broken into small florets
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock*
1/2 cup milk (coconut, almond or cow’s)
sea salt and fresh-ground pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
truffle oil
Preparation
In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter (or ghee) and oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic and onions and cook, stirring frequently (do not burn!) until the onion softens and begins to turn translucent. Add in the cauliflower and apple and cook an additional minute or two.
Pour in the soup stock (enough to cover the apple and cauliflower completely). Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower is completely tender when pierced with a fork or knife.
Puree in a blender until completely smooth. Return to saucepan. Stir in milk of choice and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of chives and a drizzle of truffle oil. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
This looks great – I’ll give it a try this week!
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Let me know how it turns out! I don’t think it should make much of a difference, but I used a Fuji apple.
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I’ll try this soup next. Sounds delish. Coincidentally, I made cauliflower leek soup last night. So yummy. Thanks for all the good ideas M.
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Thanks for reading my postings!
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You’ll be happy to hear we just bought a VitaMix 🙂 so I’m very excited to try this recipe!
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Did you buy your “dream machine” at Costco? It seems to be the best deal around.
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