Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Broccoli & Cheddar Gruyere Toasts

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Winter's Perfect Comfort Food



If you like broccoli and cauliflower and bacon and delicious cheeses melted on little bites of chewy baguettes, you my friend are in for a treat! I thought I was getting company for lunch yesterday but she was needed elsewhere at the last minute so she didn't come. This is what she missed. :) 
It. Was. Super. Yummy.
 
I've always enjoyed soup and at the restaurant where I used to work they served both broccoli and cauliflower soups with the cheese melted into the soup. Yummy! But I've grown away from the Velveeta cheese that they used and I have trouble with cheddar not performing well for me IN a soup. I like this recipe because the cheese is NOT in the soup and it doesn't use flour for thickening.

4 Tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
2-3 garlic cloves, fresh pressed
12 oz. cauliflower
10 oz. broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
1 medium Yukon Gold Potato,
peeled and cut into chunks
4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup heavy cream
Bacon, cooked and crumbled,
approx 1 piece per bowl of soup
Baguette for toasts
Cheddar and Gruyere Cheeses, shredded
1-1½ teaspoon Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
Chopped Parsley, optional

Saute onion and garlic in butter till soft. Add the potato chunks 6-8 oz. of the cauliflower and broth and cook over medium heat until veggies are tender. Allow to cool slightly then blend in the blender until smooth.

In a small saucepan bring water to a boil (enough to cover the veggies) and blanch the cauliflower and broccoli separately just until tender and cool immediately in cold water.

Combine the blended soup and heavy cream in a Dutch Oven (or the saute pan if it's big enough) and heat until very hot. (Don't let it boil). Season with salt and pepper. Add the blanched veggies. Heat through again but without boiling.

Crumble bacon pieces over individual bowls of soup and sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Slice the baguette loaf into desired sized pieces and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Shred cheeses over top of the bread and broil until cheeses are melted. Serve immediately.

Serves approximately 5-6 people. Unless they have been out in the cold working very hard and are very hungry. Then you will only serve 3-4. ☺


♥Have a wonderful day!♥

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 7, 2012 at 2:05 PM

    Oh my goodness, had I known your friend wasn't coming I might have made a reservation for myself:) This looks wonderful, she did miss a yummy lunch!

    ReplyDelete

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