This soup is thick and creamy! The soup gains most of its thickness from using the immersion blender before serving it. Then finishing the soup with a home made Superfood Crunch, gives a delicious crunch.
Although the directions make this look complicated to make, it actually comes together really quickly! The most time consuming part is roasting the cauliflower.
Creamy Cauliflower & Garlic Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets or 4 cups frozen cauliflower florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil + 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 heads of garlic
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or dried thyme
3 teaspoons vegetable stock base
4 cups water
1/2 cup Asiago cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon raw quinoa
2 Tablespoons whole grain breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place the cauliflower florets on a sheet ban and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Cut the bottom of each head of garlic. On a sheet of foil drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil and then place the cut side down of each head of garlic on the foil. Wrap the foil around the garlic. Place the garlic wrapped in foil on the sheet pan with the cauliflower.
4. Roast the cauliflower and garlic for 25 - 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is roasted and lightly browned and the garlic cloves are softened. Remove from the oven and set aside.
5. In a soup pan saute the diced onion with 1 teaspoon of olive oil for 5 - 7 minutes, until tender. Then add the poultry seasoning or thyme and cook for 1 minute more.
6. Mix the water with the vegetable stock base until combined. Add to the soup pot.
7. Once the roasted garlic is cooled enough to work with, remove the cloves are garlic and place in the soup pot. Add the roasted cauliflower to the soup pot as well.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is thick and smooth.
9. Stir in the shredded Asiago cheese.
10. Prepare the Superfood Crunch: In a small skillet, over medium heat, add the quinoa. Gently stir the quinoa to keep it from burning and the quinoa will start to pop once it is hot, resembling small tiny pieces of popcorn. Once the quinoa is popped (about 10 minutes), add the bread crumbs, chia seeds, and shredded cheese. Stir to combine and until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool.
Serve the soup with the crumbled Superfood Crunch topping on it!
