BrokeAss Gourmet

BrokeAss Gourmet

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower-Bacon Soup

On Sunday, my friend, the inimitable Mollie Katzen Tweeted, “Two perfect cauliflowers from farmers’ market: like magic chariot headlights, or mysterious celestial orbs, fallen to earth. Will now roast.”

Oh Mollie. You are seriously so cool. Anyone who Tweets cauliflower poetry is a hero in my book.

So, inspired by Ms. Katzen, I set out to find my own “magic chariot headlights” to roast and puree in this decadent soup. The bacon (which gets easily crisped in the oven along with the cauliflower—no need for a frying pan) adds a lovely smoky accent and the nutty Parmesan pulls it all together in the final step.

Serve with hot crusty bread and butter.

  • ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, outer leaves removed, cored and divided into florets $1.50
  • extra virgin olive oil Pantry
  • 3 sices thick-cut bacon, preferably uncured $1.50
  • 1 medium onion, chopped $0.50
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed Pantry
  • 1 15-oz. can chicken or vegetable broth $1.50
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half $1.50 for a pint
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry
  • 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish*$3.50 for 12 oz.*
  • 2 scallions (green onions), chopped for garnish $1 for a bunch
Total Cost of Ingredients $11

Diretions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the florets with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a mixing bowl. Transfer cauliflower to a baking sheet and spread out evenly, leaving about 1/4 of the baking pan free. Place the bacon on the free space.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, flipping the bacon after about 8 minutes (once the bacon has fully crisped, remove it). The cauliflower should be lightly browned in spots.

While cauliflower and bacon cook, heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent and very fragrant. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

Add roasted cauliflower, broth and enough water to cover. Cover pot with a fitted lid and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until cauliflower is very soft.

Crumble 2 of the bacon slices and cut the third into 2” slices (to be used for garnish) and set aside.

Add the half-and-half and crumbled bacon and puree the soup, either in a food processor, blender or using an immersion blender right in the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste (be careful with the salt—the broth and bacon add a fair amount of it).

Stir in the Parmesan and ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with a sprinkle of more Parmesan, a small slice or two of bacon and a pinch of scallions.

Serve hot.

Serves 4.

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What They're Saying

Kristen at Batterlicker, on Feb 8, 02:17 PM, wrote:

Love cauliflower soup. So rich and creamy tasting! Made some recently with roasted cauliflower and sunchokes, topped with pancetta for Jay), but this looks great for the next time I don’t have sunchokes on hand … and when I stop eating vegan during the weekdays!

Mollie Katzen, on Feb 8, 03:28 PM, wrote:

No, you!

איפור מקצועי, on Sep 15, 03:11 AM, wrote:

נטאשה דנונה – איפור מקצועי

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