Just like I mentioned in my Fried Cauliflower with Coconut-Curry Dipping Sauce post, I can’t seem to get enough of cauliflower these days. I love the dense and hearty texture of this cruciferous vegetable in the late fall and early winter. It just seems to really fill you up and keep you warm. Speaking of keeping you warm, you wouldn’t suppose this yummy veggie would keep you EXTRA warm in soup form? Hey, I’m looking for any heat I can get- it is the rainy season after all! So there it is, in all its cauliflower and garlicky glory, Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic soup!
My partner and I had a version of this soup last spring at Artisan Eats Cafe on Bowen Island. It was so warm and comforting on this cold day, and that view was really amazing! I however, could have done without the semi-burnt toast and tons of cream in the soup. But from the first spoonful, I knew I had to make this at home! And clearly it was a very memorable soup, considering I thought about it and made it again in November.
That view tho <3
This recipe calls for just six simple ingredients: cauliflower (obviously), onion, garlic (in two forms: roasted and raw), carrot, vegetable stock, and thyme. That’s it! It’s so simple..and honestly the most strenuous part of this recipe is blending the soup (which the machine does for you)!
What really makes this soup is the roasted garlic. Ugh…it is so amazing! In this recipe, I used not one, not two, but THREE heads of roasted garlic. It seems like a lot, but trust me, roasted garlic has such a great soft, sweet, nutty flavour compared to when it is raw. To roast garlic, simply pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F, cut the tops off the heads of garlic so that the cloves are exposed, sprinkle them with salt, pepper and olive oil, wrap them in tin foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Once cooked, the garlic cloves go from being a bright white colour to this rich golden brown.
After you roast the garlic and let it cool, you simply squeeze out the garlic cloves into the soup and let all the yummy flavours simmer together, then puree! You can definitely go all out and add some butter and/or heavy cream to the soup, but I find that you don’t really need it as the soup is so creamy on it’s own once it is pureed. Plus, it’s always good to have a vegan recipe in your back pocket!
To contrast the creaminess of the soup, I like to make some quick and easy garlic chips for garnish. All that I do is heat olive oil in a small, shallow frying pan until it gets nice and hot. I add thinly sliced raw garlic to the hot oil and fry until the slices are golden brown in colour, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. I then remove the garlic chips and drain them on a paper towel. I keep the left-over garlic-infused oil to drizzle over the top of the finished soup and add a sprinkling of thyme leaves.
And there you have it! A great bowl of healthy, garlicky goodness! For the full recipe for this Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup, click here! And as always, if you make this soup (or want to make it) please leave a comment below 🙂 <3
Enjoy everyone!
