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Cauliflower Cheddar Beer Soup

This super creamy cauliflower cheddar beer soup is packed full of flavor and is perfect for cool weather. In an hour you can go from hungry to full.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of having lunch with two fabulous bloggers, Gina and Winnie. I always enjoy going out to lunch with them and we usually end up chatting for hours. We really need to plan a dinner together so we can chat the night away.

While at lunch we all had the most delicious soup. I decided this weekend I had to recreate it’s deliciousness. Off to the store I went to gather the ingredients!

{On a totally unrelated note can we talk about how awful it is to go to the grocery store on a Sunday? We live close by to a college and the store is always packed with students pushing carts at the pace of a snail. I watched one college girl walk by with nothing in her cart but cases of bottled Perrier water. Really? That’s what you are choosing to spend your money on…Perrier water?}

Back to the soup. It’s creamy, savory and packed full of flavor. I even added a little bit of jalapeño to add a bite of spice. It was the perfect addition to this cold winter (please spring come soon!) day.

Califlower Cheddar & Beer Soup

This super creamy cauliflower cheddar beer soup is packed full of flavor and is perfect for cool weather. In an hour you can go from hungry to full.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower, diced (heads only)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 strips thick cut bacon, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 small jalapeño, diced and seeds removed (use only half if you don't like heat)
  • 2 bottles brown ale (I used Newcastle)
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Chives, diced (optional)

Slightly adapted from Mark Bittman

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut off bottom of the cauliflower (the green part), cut the head into 4 pieces, cut out the center core and cut off just the florets.

Lay out onto silpat lined rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, stir/flip the cauliflower florets and continue baking for another 10 - 15 minutes until the cauliflower is soft and golden brown. Careful not to let the cauliflower burn. Once cooked set aside until ready to use.

In a large soup pot add olive oil and diced bacon. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is just starting to brown. Add in onion, carrots and jalapeño. Continue cooking until the vegetables are started to soften.

Add in beer, chicken stock, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, salt, roasted cauliflower and dijon mustard. Cook for about 10 minutes until flavors are combined and all vegetables are soft.

Add mixture to a Vitamix (or other high powered blender) and puree starting on speed 1 and slowly going up to speed 10. Blend on speed 10 for about 2 minutes until completely smooth.

Add pureed soup back to the pot and cook over low heat while you prepare the cheddar cheese.

In a bowl add shredded cheddar cheese and toss with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Add cheese to the soup a handful at a time. Stirring the whole time so the soup does not burn and the cheese incorporates smoothly. Continue until all the cheese has been added and the soup is smooth.

Serve hot with diced chives if desired.

* It would also be great with little pieces of bacon on top but I forgot to make more.