Fall is here which means it’s time for soup! And comfort food! If you are looking for warm, comforting food, you can’t go wrong with my creamy cauliflower soup. Creamy, smooth, swirled with blue cheese and topped with a drizzle of truffle oil. Is it dinner time yet?
Hey, look it’s fall! Fall and spring are my favorite times of the year.
In the spring I love how the weather warms up so I can throw off my coats and sweaters, the lighter foods I’ve missed all winter with the spring produce, the tiny leaves, and all the pretty flowers. The world feels new again.
While fall means I can turn on the oven to make braises and stews, turn the comfort food up to 11, have a fire in the evening, and go out to look at all the pretty leaves. Also, all that fall produce! Since it is still very early fall, there are plenty of fresh tomatoes, along with squash (summer and winter), apples!!!, plenty of local broccoli and cauliflower, and so much else.
I may be a little excited about fall arriving. 🙂
I have so many comfort food ideas. Braises, apple desserts, creamy foods, slow cooker recipes. It’s all GOOD. And I’m starting my fall posting with one of my favorite soups. I’ve been making this cauliflower soup for many years now and it’s finally time to share it with you.
As with any recipe you make many times over a long period, this one has changed and evolved.
Way back when I started making it, it was basic cauliflower blue cheese soup. Very tasty and we enjoyed it. Then I added in cream for a little richness and started sprinkling some blue cheese over the top too to get that extra hit of flavor. Even better!
A few years later I saw a cauliflower soup with truffle oil drizzled over it! I thought, yes!!! Top chefs may be over truffle oil (though you’ll still see it on many of their menus), but I am not. The whole family adores my easy truffle fries, and we’re not giving up the fries or the soup. So there!
Just make sure you drizzle and don’t pour the truffle oil. It can take over and you want it to enhance, not be all you taste.
Not a big fan of truffle oil? I won’t make you use it. 🙂 Try some extra fruity olive oil or maybe a herb oil, like chive or parsley oil.
The last change I’ve made to the recipe is a recent one. When I posted my crispy fried shallots, I promised a salad and a soup. I’ve already posted my Italian green bean salad (with crispy fried shallots!) and now it’s time for the soup.
So, there you have it. Creamy, comforting, just enough zing from the blue cheese, and with lots of fun toppings! This is a soup which is made for cool, fall days.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Creamy Cauliflower Blue Cheese Soup with Truffle Oil
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large leek, white and light green, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium (~1 lb) head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, low or no sodium
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2-3 oz blue cheese
- kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
Garnishes
- crispy fried shallots
- crumbled blue cheese
- truffle oil
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, thyme, or chives
Instructions
- Melt the butter on low in a large pot. Add the leeks and a sprinkle of kosher salt and saute for 5-6 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Add garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour and combine it well with the butter. Cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and cauliflower. Bring to a boil on high, then reduce the heat back to low and simmer, covered, for 15-18 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft and completely cooked through.
- Puree until smooth. Add the milk and bring back to a simmer. Stir in the blue cheese. Season to taste with kosher salt and white pepper.
- Serve with garnishes of your choice.
Notes
- Since leeks tend to be fairly sandy, I usually slit them up lengthwise 3 or 4 times in the white area of the leak (with the dark green holding everything together), and then rinse the leeks off that way. If you think there may be more sand that didn't rinse off, put the slices in a colander and give them another rinse before putting them in the pot.
- I usually puree this soup right in the pot with my stick blender. If you are using a regular blender, do it in two batches and then return it to the pot.
- For the shallot garnish: Crispy Fried Shallots
- To make the soup gluten-free, make a slurry of 1 tbsp cornstarch with a few tablespoons of stock or water and add that with the stock.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
This soup looks amazing, Annemarie! I’m loving the combination of cauliflower and blue cheese. And what a coincidence! I just happened to order some truffle oil (and truffle butter) from a gift card I received. I think it’s a sign that I need to make this soup. Can’t wait to try it!
justalittlebitofbacon says
It is a sign! I love this soup on a chilly fall evening.