This earth-toned Creamy Roasted Mushroom Cauliflower Soup tastes rich and decadent without the guilt! The flavor is earthy and full of umami. The texture is silky smooth and dissolves on your tongue.
I was coming to the end of my two weeks worth of produce and was trying to come up with something for dinner. I still had a cauliflower and 3 largish Portobello mushrooms to use up. Not yet sure what I was going to make, I decided to roast them and thought I would figure it out later.
The roasted veggies smelled soooooo good that I thought why not combine them into a creamy soup. The result was even better than I had imagined and it would be irresponsible not to share it with you. While I did use chicken stock and a little butter, this could easily be made vegan. Just swap them out for a quality vegetable stock and either buttery vegan sticks or a bit more EVOO.
This Creamy Roasted Mushroom Cauliflower Soup makes a wonderful first course or a dinner when accompanied by a salad and some good bread. This is good enough for a special dinner, but easy enough to make on a weeknight, especially if you roast the veggies the day before.
The speckled earth-tones of this Creamy Roasted Mushroom Cauliflower Soup is my idea of beauty. However, if it isn’t yours, just close your eyes, take a spoonful and be prepared to be moved. It’s THAT good.
For other delicious creamy vegan soups try:
Watercress, Spinach & Chickpea Soup
Recipe
Yield: 3 to 4 servings, as a dinner
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds) cut into small florets
3 large Portobello mushroom caps, whole or cut into thick strips
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock, preferably unsalted
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan buttery substitute
Kosher or sea salt and flavored pepper like Mrs. Dash
EVOO plus more for drizzling (use garlic, basil or lemon flavored if you have it)
Optional Garnish Ideas
Toasted walnuts
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives or oregano
Croutons
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. and raise the rack to the second from the top. You want the vegetables to be 6 to 8 inches from the top of the oven.
Liberally drizzle a baking sheet with EVOO (Just regular good quality EVOO). Toss the cauliflower and mushrooms in the oil. Liberally sprinkle with salt and the flavored pepper. Make sure that the veggies are in a single layer on the pan. Roast for about 30 minutes and then turn the veggies over and continue roasting for 10 more minutes. These can be made a day ahead and refrigerated if you like.
In a 5 quart pot, warm 1 Tablespoon of EVOO over medium high heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of salt or to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more.
Once the veggies are roasted, add them to the onions in the pot along with the stock and butter. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
Allow the mixture to cool down to simply warm. While you can use an immersion blender (And I do love them!) you will get a smoother texture if you use a standing blender. Place the mixture in the blender and blend on low until smooth. Do not try to do this with very hot soup or you will have a mess on your hands!
Garnish and serve. Prepare to be delighted!
