Roasted Cauliflower & Cheese Soup with Bacon Crumble

As a child, the only way mum could get me to eat cauliflower (and broccoli for that matter) was to cover it in béchamel sauce and cheese.  I’m happy to say that I’ve come a long way since then and have broadened my cauliflower palate considerably!  Having said that, I still absolutely adore cauliflower and cheese. There is something so wonderfully comforting, hearty and delicious about it that will always make me think of my childhood days.  Here I’ve taken inspiration from this simple childhood dish by turning it into a beautiful creamy, silky, warming soup.  As delicious as the soup is on it’s own, the bacon crumble really takes it to another level, so please make that too!

Mel xoxo

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup

with Bacon Crumble

serves 6

Ingredients

50g butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tbsp plain flour

2 large potatoes, small diced

500ml milk

1 head of cauliflower, broken down into large florets

extra virgin olive oil

750ml chicken stock

250ml pouring cream

150g strong vintage cheddar cheese, grated

Bacon Crumble

2 rashers bacon, finely diced

1/2 small onion, finely diced

1 cup sourdough breadcrumbs

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

zest of 1 lemon

handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

salt to taste

Method 

Preheat oven to 180C.

Heat the butter in a large ovenproof saucepan over low-medium heat.  Once the butter starts to sizzle, add the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, nutmeg and cook for around 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.  Add the flour and stir for around 1 minute before adding the potatoes and stirring briefly before adding the milk.  Sit the cauliflower florets upright in the pan (without stirring), drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover and return to the oven for a further 25 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender, golden and caramelised.  Remove from the oven and return to the stovetop.  Fish out the bay leaf and discard.  Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer before adding the cream and the cheese.  Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth.  Check your seasoning, you may want more salt or cheese depending on how strong your cheese is.

To make the bacon crumble, add the bacon to a medium-high frying pan and cook for around 5 minutes or until it starts to crisp up.  Add the onion and continue cooking until the oven is soft.  Now add the breadcrumbs and thyme and cook until everything looks crunchy and delicious.  Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon zest and fresh parsley.  Taste it to check if you need salt (try not to eat it all now!).

To serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls, top with a generous spoon full of the crumble, a drizzle of olive oil and some cracked pepper.