Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Really Gouda Cauliflower Soup


I was the world's pickiest eater as a child (okay maybe until 18). Going out to eat with my parents meant fried mozzarella sticks, which I would inevitably choke on at least once during the night due to eating them too fast. At home, the most reliable way to get me to eat vegetable involved a sauce made from heating milk with American cheese and whisking it together. At that time I loved it, especially over potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower (said quietly while looking at the floor in shame).

While American cheese has not been on my grocery list since, well, I started buying groceries, I have continued my passionate love affair with cheeses of all kinds.
This soup is a dressed up version of my childhood meals-a chunky cauliflower soup with creamy melted Gouda.

To Make Cauliflower Soup:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon parsley
2 cups chicken stock
1 can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons flour
Splash dry white wine (2 tablespoons, more or less)
4 oz Gouda, grated or chopped into tiny pieces
Optional: chopped chives

Melt 2 tablespoons in large stew pot. Add onion and garlic to pot and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so that garlic and onion do not brown. Add cauliflower and parsley and cook 5 minutes to soften.

Add white wine to pot. Let wine come to simmer and cook off, about 3-5 minutes, stirring vegetables. Add chicken stock to pot and bring to simmer.

While soup is cooking, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in sauce pot. Whisk flour into butter. Add milk slowly, stirring so that it becomes incorporated. Stir mixture until it begins to thicken. Add gruyere chunks and whisk as it melts into roux.

Take some broth from soup (about 1/2 cup or so) and whisk into roux/cheese. Pour entire mixture into soup pot. Let soup simmer about 15 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with chives if desired.


By the way...I apologize for the recipe's cheesy name (oops I did it again!)

12 comments:

  1. This sounds amazing. I love Gouda!!!!
    Great soup

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  2. Hey, there's no shame in a clever name! (hey, I'm a poet and I didn't know it...) This sounds really good, and I'm not a huge cauliflower fan. Gonna have to bookmark and try!

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  3. Thanks Miranda and TastyEats! I fear what I have started with the lame humor...

    although I'm sure I'd make my father proud ;P

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  4. Looks like a soup you can put together pretty quickly with a real distinct, lovely flavor. Well Done!

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  5. Gouda is my favorite cheese! Your soup, so rich and delicious!!! I often use evaporated milk in soups. It's one of those "have on hand" ingredients that makes a world of difference!

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  6. Love the addition of gouda, yum!

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  7. I am stashing this recipe for the near future ty!

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  8. Haha, love your cheesy title :) Your soup sounds delicious, we don't buy cauliflower nearly as often as we should.

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  9. Soup sounds great Caitlin. I am trying to alter some of the ingredients so it will be low fat and low sodium for my heart healthy diet. Can not figure out a tasty low fat cheese that would be available. Any suggestions?


    Aunt Karen Buffalo, NY

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  10. Hi Karen! I would definitely use reduced-sodium chicken broth and nonfat evaporated milk. You could reduce the amount of butter in the recipe by half and it would not affect the roux very much. This makes a good amount of soup, the amount of cheese per serving is actually not THAT much, maybe 1 tablespoon per large bowl, but you could definitely cut it down, the chives add a lot of flavor to the soup : )

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  11. Hi! Amanda (my classmate) told me about your blog, and I love it! I have subscribed and I'll be following. I have a blog, too, but I have not been updating it. Anyway, I am glad to meet a fellow food blogger!

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  12. Hi Christina! Glad to hear you enjoy my recipes. What is your blog, I'd love to check it out : )

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