Roasted Cauliflower and Curry Soup

Who's ready for soup season?  Today's recipe is inspired by one of my favorite local restaurants that Adam & I frequent quite regularly.  Over the summer, they had a roasted cauliflower & white truffle soup that was absolutely divine!  Since I tend to use a lot of truffle oil & truffle salt in other recipes,  I decided to omit the truffle flavor, and give this recipe a playful twist.  

Roasting the cauliflower in the oven brings out the natural sweetness, so not a lot of added flavors are needed in this dish.  Just a hint of curry, celery and onion, balanced out with chicken broth and a touch of half & half.  This soup is the type of soup that begs to have something dunked into it, so I paired it with some homemade croutons which I'll include the recipe for at the bottom of this page.

I really hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets {about 6 cups}
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh cracked salt & pepper
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup half & half



Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Place cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with ground salt & pepper, and roast in the oven for around 20 minutes, flipping florets once during that time period.  Once they begin to lightly brown up, and can easily be pierced with a fork, remove from oven and set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium sized stock pot over medium-high heat.  Cook the celery, and onion until soft and translucent, around 5 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder.

Next, add in the roasted cauliflower {making sure to scrape in the browned bits from the baking sheet} & chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.  If your blender is smaller {like mine}, you may need to do this step in a few batches.  Once complete, transfer back to your stockpot.

Add in the half & half, season with salt & pepper to taste, and simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve, pour into bowls, lightly drizzle with olive oil if desired, and serve with crusty bread or home made croutons {recipe follows at the bottom of this page}.

For homemade croutons:

Take a large baguette, and slice 1 inch rounds on a diagonal.  Place rounds on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and lightly sprinkle with salt and garlic powder {optional}.

Place in oven, and bake at 375 degrees F, for around 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Store in an airtight container.

Thanks for reading!  xx