Elaine Cooks

“Cream of Cauliflower Soup”

Introduction

This creamy cauliflower soup is great to prepare as a main dish or a starter for a more elaborate and elegant dinner. A vellutata may be roughly translated as velvety or creamy, or even “Cream of [fill in the main ingredient of the soup you are making]“.

This tasty recipe is truly quick and easy to prepare, beginning with a basic soffritto (which is essentially lightly sautéed, not browned, onions), to enhance the soup’s flavor (note: many soffrittos include celery and carrots, but I’ve omitted this ingredient for this recipe). Potato is added to the cauliflower, but just enough to thicken the texture, and not to distract from the cauliflower, which is the highlight of this dish. Water and chicken or vegetable broth are added to the soffritto and the vegetables, once tender, and then all ingredients are combined and puréed until smooth (note: a food processor or a blender, whether hand-held or a countertop appliance, may be used). In about 30 minutes, dinner is served! And once you’ve mastered this simple technique, you can basically make a vellutata out of other vegetables of your choice.

And really, this is a very forgiving recipe! I encourage you to use fresh ingredients and feel free to season to your preference. Seasonings could even include, for example, a curry flavor, adding cumin and/or turmeric!

Buon Appetito!

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 1 medium to large head of cauliflower, trimmed, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 russet or other baking potato, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 medium onion, preferably vidalia, peeled and sliced
• Olive oil
• Vegetable or Chicken broth
• Water, reserved from the cauliflower liquid
• 1/4 c. whole milk (optional, but this cannot be added during high heat or may curdle! See tip below)
• Salt and pepper

For toppings:

• Minced chives
• Minced fresh parsley
• Sour cream
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground pepper
• Kosher salt
• Additional spices, to your preference (but added in limited amounts)

Instructions

• As with many of my beloved Italian dishes, begin by making a soffritto, in this case, in my large dutch oven pot (I like Le Creuset), by gently sautéing the onion in olive oil and a light pinch of salt until wilted, taking extra care to avoid browning.
• In a separate pot of lightly salted water, add the cauliflower and potatoes. Once tender, drain the vegetables to the soffritto, but reserve 4 cups of water from the cauliflower to use for the soup.
• Add the broth and enough of the reserved water from the cauliflower and potato mixture to cover the ingredients. Cover and let simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
• Time to blend! (I prefer using a hand-held immersion blender which allows for remaining in the same pot!) Blend until the mixture is a smooth, velvety, purée.
• At this point, check for thickness. If too thick, add more liquid, which could be more water, broth or the milk (optional, but note my tip below) as you prefer. If too thin, let the purée reduce over a gentle simmer. Check and adjust for seasoning as well.
• When you’re ready to serve, bring the purée just to the simmer over gentle heat. Serve with one or more of the suggested toppings and, if you like, slices of toasted bread.

Tips:

I love a thick and creamy soup, but sometimes prefer a lighter soup, particularly on weeknights. But, when using milk, which may provide a more creamy texture, it is important to avoid curdling, which can happen when cold milk is poured into scalding temperatures (other than coffee!). This can be prevented, though, by first warming the milk separately and gradually. To do this, pour the milk in a small sacepan over low heat and whisk in some of the warm soup (not hot or boiling). Finally, do not boil the soup after adding the milk, and instead, heat it gently until warm.  

Mangia!