Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Leeks & Carrots

The sky has been overcast with clouds and a low-hanging fog since past few days, and it doesn’t feel like Summer!However, in a way, I am thankful for this welcome relief in heat, and to warm things up, here’s a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower soup that I adapted from Jen at My Kitchen Addiction and Kevin over at Closet Cooking. Roasting the cauliflower gives it a nice fragrant appeal, which goes well with the use of leeks in the soup. Leek has a mild onion-like taste, just less bitter than scallion; the addition of carrots gives the Soup a lovely golden color, while adding Parmesan cheese makes it smooth and creamy, just how a warm and comforting soup should be! [photo courtesy of Jen at My Kitchen Addiction]

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Leeks & Carrots

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 big cauliflower head, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 1/2 cups water – or more if needed
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk (or heavy cream, if you like)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
salt and black pepper – add to taste

Method
Toss the cauliflower florets in 1 tbsp olive oil with the salt and pepper. Arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer in a baking dish. Roast them in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Heat the remaining oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, roasted cauliflower, and carrots and saute until tender, about 10 – 15 minutes. Add the water (or vegetable stock) and bring to a simmer. Then remove from heat and blend it in a Blender to form a mushy vegetable puree. You can blend it for a longer time if you like non-textured soups.

Once the puree is ready, add the low-fat milk (or heavy cream) and give a final whisk in the blender. Then transfer the soup to the stove again, and bring to a low simmer. Check for taste and add seasoning if you want. remove from stove and add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and mix well.

Serve the hot Roasted Cauliflower soup with some dipping bread or savory scones, and enjoy a hearty delicious meal!

Suggested Recipe Variations
Roasting vegetables is a great way to enhance the flavor in curries and soups. You can easily adapt the recipe to combine other vegetables with Cauliflower. Roasted red peppers, potatoes, tomatoes – all of these would be great additions. If you don’t like Leeks, or can’t find them on hand, feel free to use white onions instead – just saute them over low heat to get rid of the raw onion smell. In fact, caramelizing the onions would be a great idea too!

As far as use of spices goes, I think a sprinkling of herbs like Cilantro or parsley may add a nice flavor. If you are craving for an Indianized flavor, a pinch of Cumin with some turmeric and dried coriander powder might be great too.

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Roasted Cauliflower & Bell Pepper Soup
Creamy Carrot Soup