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Here comes the holiday ho-down.
I feel like with the holidays coming fast we are all scrounging to find a regular meal. Really, we crave something fast, easy, LOW-CARB, and yummy. Well folks, here ya have it! Roasted Cauliflower and Gouda soup is not just on the LOW-CARB aisle but also gives you that warm and cozy feel.
I thought about sending out one of the 1,000s of Thanksgiving recipes I could hand out. Then, I ran out of time lol. So for Christmas y’all will have an abundant new-but-old recipes that put a good twist on the ol’ regular dishes. Or, would you rather have a bunch of great bread recipes? I only have 2,000 of those. Please leave your comments below. :))
Here is how you do this in 30 minutes or less.
I think the best way to judge a great meal is… how good it is (duh!), how fast it is (yes!), and do I have to go to the store for this? Honestly, this is how I try to aim all the recipes on here. I want to be able to live my life and remember to cook dinner almost at the last minute. I like living like that.
Nonetheless, preheat the oven to 425 and chop up that head of cauliflower, the green part of the celery and your onion. Then, pour it onto a sheet pan, drizzle some oil on it and salt and pepper. Roast that for 30 min or until brown.
While you’re waiting on that greatness, make a roux. Start melting the butter in a large pan. Then, sprinkle the flour until it starts to incorporate and ball up. Carefully, pour the milk in as your whisking, making sure to find all the little butter balls around. You always want a roux to be super smooth. Smoother, the better. Add spice to this…I was very forgiving in the recipe. Kevin and I prefer to have this much more spicy.
Once you have this done, add the roasted vegetables. If your vegetables are not done yet, then you can go ahead and add the cheese. You don’t want a roux to sit around–it’ll thicken too much.
Finish it off.
With the vegetables in the roux, use your immersion blender or pour into a regular blender and pulse until there are bite-size chunks. You can smooth it out as much as you want, but to really get that roasted taste leave the vegetables a little thick. Add parsley or bell peppers, and more cheese to top it. A nice dabble of sour cream on the bottom of the bowl before you pour it is quite nice as well!
I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Pair it with a piece of crusty bread and salad–or heck, maybe even a nice sandwich.
This Thanksgiving I give thanks to all of you!
I hope this finds you well,
Farmer Fran-man
Roasted Cauliflower and Gouda Soup
Equipment
- Cookie sheet/roasting pan
- Large pot/ soup pot or cast iron pot
- sharp knife
- immersion blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 sticks celery green part
- 1 small onion
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp red pepper or cayenne for more heat
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 wedge gouda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Roughly chop cauliflower, celery, and onion. Oil cookie sheet/roasting pan. You can salt and pepper this too if you prefer.
- Place vegetables on the pan and cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender and crisp on the end.
- Make a roux: Heat your soup pot on medium heat with butter. Whisk in 3 tbsp flour until starting to ball up. Add one cup at a time to butter mix whisking well. Don't leave the pan, continue to whisk until you have a thick milky sauce.
- To the roux, add salt and pepper and red pepper (sub cayenne for more heat).
- When the vegetables are done, add to roux mix. Mix with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, a food processor does well; just make sure you cool the soup before blending. Do not over mix. I prefer some roasted chunks and not completely smooth.
- Mix in sliced gouda leaving some for garnish. Garnish with fresh parsley or bell pepper on top.