This week, we’re talking winter soup recipes!
You know, at the beginning of the week, when I planned out my recipe exchange calendar for the month, I thought winter soups sounded so appealing. Of course, that’s when it was getting down into the 30s at night, and barely pushing 60 during the day. Today, it was 85 and apparently will be all weekend. So, I’m not quite as in the mood for hot and hearty soup as I was a few days ago, but I’m still excited to share with you our favorite winter soup recipe: Creamy Cauliflower Soup.
I’ll be making it later today, to serve with a vegetarian taco salad (made with soy crumbles). It’s a simple yet satisfying meal, and one of our favorites for family-only Shabbat dinners. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Adapted from this recipe at AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter (I know, it’s a lot, but I’ve cut back slightly from the original recipe and don’t recommend cutting back more because the butter is so nice in it)
- 1 leek, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, thyme or tarragon – or any combination thereof. If you don’t have fresh, substitute 1 tsp dry crumbled.
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dry white cooking wine (or leftover Shabbat wine)
- 6 cups parve chicken stock (I use the Osem, brought over from Israel, because the kind I can buy in KC has MSG in it)
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets, or 2-3 cups of frozen cauliflower
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream or 1/2 and 1/2
Directions:
Lightly steam the cauliflower. Melt the butter in a pot over medium high heat, add leek, onion and carrot and saute until fragrant and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in herbs/spices and saute for another minute.
Add in flour and stir constantly for one minute. Reduce heat, and slowly whisk in wine and pareve chicken stock. Add cauliflower and simmer soup for half an hour, uncovered.
Puree using a hand immersion blender. Stir in milk and cream and gently heat so as not to boil the milk.
Serves 6-8. I serve it with soup croutons for a satisfying crunch to compliment the creamy soup.
Notes on cost: The original recipe calls for adding an optional 2 cups of Swiss cheese, but we have found that the soup is perfectly creamy without the cheese, so we leave it out. Kosher Swiss cheese is insanely expensive by us, and I just don’t think it adds enough to the soup to justify the expense. If I have a little sharp cheddar at home, I will serve the soup with a tablespoon or two of that on top. As for produce, yes, it can be costly, but not if you buy in season, on sale! I got a huge head of cauliflower this week for $1.50. My leeks were full-priced (and expensive), but even still, this whole pot of soup should run me around $5.50 – $6 and will serve us for two meals.
Now it’s your turn to share! What is your favorite winter soup recipe? I can’t wait to read what you’ve got. (I’m looking for a new black bean soup recipe. Anyone?)
Cauliflower soup is one of our winter favorites. The recipe we use adds caraway seeds which add a nice surprise and unique flavor. It might be from Moosewood cookbook. I agree on the cheese. It is expensive and so we too use it as a condiment rather than a full fledged ingredient.
I just made a lovely mushroom barley soup last night. We got a lb of mushrooms for $0.99. Please forgive me, I am not as versed in this as you are, but I believe we got them at Whole Foods last week. We keep a huge glass jar of barley in the house – so that was a sunk cost. It was delicious and hot and feed the 6 of us for little money. The kids voted it a “keeper” so it should be making the rounds on our Shabbat menu in the future.
Here is the recipe…Mushroom Barley Soup…Cheap Cheap Cheap!!!
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 3/4 cup diced carrots
* 1/2 cup chopped celery (did not have)
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic (did not have)
* 1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
* 6 cups Par eve chicken broth
* 1/2 cup raw barley
* salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic; cook and stir until onions are tender and transparent. Stir in mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and add barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Season with salt and pepper before serving.
That sounds delicious, Dana! Perfect for a cozy dinner. Are your kids sated with soup only (and maybe a little bread/salad) for dinner? Or do they complain that they are still hungry? I’m thinking I may need to start making bourekas or other appetizery type food to serve with the soup to satisfy my big eaters.
Potato Corn Chowder
1 small onion chopped
1 large russet potato peeled cut into ½” cubes
2 cups milk
1 15oz can creamed corn
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1. Saute onion in a little margarine and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
2. Add potato and saute about 5 minute.
3. Add 2 cups milk and bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender and soup thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
5. Add creamed corn, corn kernels
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper
If the soup is not thick enough you can add some corn starch to thicken it