Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup with Caramelized Onions
Though this recipe takes some time, there is very little actual work involved, so try to think of it less like cooking and more like minding. I give my rich vegetable broth recipe below, but please feel free to make something easier or go with the boxed stuff if you need to.
Though this recipe takes some time, there is very little actual work involved, so try to think of it less like cooking and more like minding. I give my rich vegetable broth recipe below, but please feel free to make something easier or go with the boxed stuff if you need to.
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 4 quarts water
- 1 large red onion quartered
- 4 carrots halved
- 6 celery stalks halved
- 1 bunch kale stems
- 1 bunch parsley stems
- 6 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
- 4 tablespoons sea salt
- 20 peppercorns
- 1 head cauliflower cored and cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1 head garlic broken into cloves, with skin still on
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 4-5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 red onion sliced thin
- 4 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 8 crumini mushrooms stems removed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 tablespoons parsley minced
- Carbohydrate 28.5053337513022 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 7.49517500290752 g
- Fiber 8.38868746316166 g
- Protein 5.76086500007021 g
- Saturated Fat 1.03691000040291 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1366g)
- Sodium 9415.46426587523 mg
- Sugar 20.1166462881405 g
- Trans Fat 0.42249400008668 g
- Calories 188 calories
Step-by-step
- for the broth (optional):
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red onion, quartered
- 4 carrots, washed, trimmed, and cut in half
- 6 stalks celery, trimmed and halved
- 1 bunch kale stems
- 1 bunch parsley stems
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 4 tablespoons sea salt
- 20 peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 quarts water, plus more as needed
- In a big stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sear. Next, add the carrots and celery and cook for a few minutes more. Add the stems, garlic, and spices. Pour on 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, and then turn heat to a simmer. Cook, so broth is gently bubbling, for 3–5 hours. Strain, pour into jars, seal, and refrigerate.
- for the soup
- 1 large head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 1 head garlic, broken into cloves, ends trimmed and smashed, with the papery skin left on
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4–5 cups vegetable broth (see above)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss the cauliflower and garlic with the olive oil, zest, salt, and spices, and turn out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the edges are lightly browned.
- When it’s cool enough to handle, peel the papery skin from the garlic.
- Using your blender of choice, puree the roasted vegetables with the broth until smooth. Check salt levels and adjust as needed. To serve, heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 20 minutes.
- for the topping
- 1 red onion, sliced thin
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus a pinch
- 8 crimini mushrooms, stems removed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- pinch of black pepper
- 3 tablespoons parsley, minced
- Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, and then the onion slices and sea salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 1/2 hours. After 1 hour they’ll be sweet but limp; after 2, delicious; but after 2 1/2 hours will they be crisp and sweet and perfect. Remove to a bowl.
- Just before serving the soup, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the mushrooms have given up their water and are crispy on the edges. Fold in the onions and parsley. Off the heat and set aside.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, add the topping, and drizzle with olive oil.
Home cooks often crowd the baking sheet when roasting vegetables, trapping steam instead of allowing the dry oven heat to caramelize the cauliflower and garlic properly. Spreading the florets and unpeeled cloves in a single layer ensures the sugars brown evenly at 400 degrees Fahrenheit without steaming. Leaving the papery skins on the garlic cloves protects them from burning during the twenty-five minutes in the oven while infusing the interior with a mellow, spreadable sweetness.
Building flavor requires patience at the stove, particularly when reducing onions over low heat for two and a half hours. High heat will scorch the natural sugars rather than breaking them down into the jammy, crisp texture needed for the topping. Using a standard countertop blender rather than an immersion model yields a smoother purée by generating enough shear force to break down the fibrous cauliflower stems completely.
Crimini mushrooms demand a separate pan searing process just seven minutes before serving to drive off their internal moisture. Slicing those caps uniformly to a quarter-inch thickness allows the edges to crisp in the hot oil before folding them into the finished onion mixture. Standard vegetable broths vary wildly in sodium content, so tasting the puréed base after blending is necessary before adjusting seasoning levels.
Batch cooking the foundational vegetable stock ahead of time divides the labor across multiple days when schedule constraints require flexibility. Straining the solids through a fine-mesh sieve prevents cloudy sediment from muddying the final soup's velvety appearance.
