Cheesy, Gluten-Free Cauliflower Soup ~ A Recipe

The fact that I am posting a cauliflower recipe means that there has been some serious palate-healing.  It was one of the two veggies that made me gag as a kid.  I hated everything about that pale cruciferous: the rotten smell while it steamed, the deceitful whiteness making one think it might taste something like potato, then the massive shock and disappointment when that first bight confirms otherwise.  If you would have told me as a child that I would grow up to one day love, and even crave cauliflower, I'd laugh in your face.  Yet here I am, grown-up Katie, happily sharing a recipe that in fact has become my husband's favorite soup to come out of this kitchen.  Miraculous.

A note on this soup:  It can be a wee bit on the watery side since there is no flour to thicken it up.  A simple remedy to that is peeling and cubing 2-4 potatoes or sweet potatoes and adding them in with the cauliflower.  I tend to avoid this simply because it adds more time to the process and we don't mind the consistency.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Prep time: 15 minutes, simmer time: 20 minutes, serves 8-10

• 1/4 cup bacon grease or other healthy fat (We only buy organic bacon from pigs who foraged freely so the grease is actually nutritious and makes this soup incredible.)
• 1 onion
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 quarts chicken stock (find a recipe here)
• 1 cup creme fraiche (find a recipe here)
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (this truffle sea salt is my secret ingredient to make the soup phenomenal)
• 5-8 slices Canadian bacon or ham
• optional garnish: finely-chopped sautéed mushrooms

1. Place grease in soup pot and heat until melted.  While the grease melts, chop onions, then add to pot and sauté for about 3 minutes.
2. While onions sauté, chop cauliflower, then add to pot.
3. Stir in smoked paprika, peppers, and thyme.  Add stock.  Stir, then cover and let soup simmer to a light boil for 15 minutes.
4. While the soup simmers, grate cheese and finely cube Canadian bacon.
5. Once soup is done simmering and the cauliflower is soft, turn off heat source and add creme fraiche, cheese, and salt.  Blend with an immersion blender or in batches in an upright blender.
6. Stir in cubed Canadian bacon or ham and reheat on low if necessary.  Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with finely-chopped sautéed mushrooms for added flavor and to increase immune support, if desired.

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