Description
Cauliflower gets a starring role in this thick and creamy soup recipe, with the help of a flavorful kick from roasted poblano chiles. This rich and velvety soup will warm you through and through!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
- 4 cups Chicken Stock (see recipe below or buy quality low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 poblano chiles
- 1 red bell pepper
- Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
- Fresh Goat Cheese
- Cilantro, roughly chopped
- Splash of Red Wine Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar
- Squeeze of Honey
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the cauliflower on a large baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle with approximately 3 tablespoons of the oil, season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and toss to coat. Place the cauliflower into the oven and roast, stirring the cauliflower around a bit halfway through the process, until the cauliflower starts to turn golden brown and is soft, about 25 - 30 minutes.
- Raise the heat of the oven to 375°F. Place the 3 poblano chiles and 1 red bell pepper on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle with approximately 1 tablespoon of oil, season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Place the tray of peppers into the oven and roast for about 20-30 minutes, turning/rotating with tongs about every 6-8 minutes, until the peppers are blistered with brown char marks and the skins are wrinkled. Remove from the oven and place the peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the skins to loosen. Remove skins and seeds from the chiles and pepper.
- Place 2 of the roasted poblano chiles into a blender or food processor and purée. Finely chop the other roasted poblano chile and roasted red bell pepper.
- While the peppers are roasting, scrape the cauliflower into a medium saucepan and add the stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Let cool a bit and then ladle all of the cauliflower with a slotted spoon from the saucepan into a blender. Add a couple cups of the stock. Puree until smooth, adding more of the stock from the saucepan until you reach a thick soup consistency. You may use all the stock, you may not, depending how much cauliflower you have and how thick/thin you want your soup to be. Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pot. The soup can be made up to this point a couple days in advance. Store in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.
- When ready to serve, bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat and whisk in the heavy cream and poblano puree. Season with Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until just warmed through.
- Meanwhile, prepare the "pepper relish" garnish. Combine the finely chopped roasted poblano chile and red bell pepper with a splash of red wine or sherry vinegar and a squeeze of honey. The vinegar and honey should be approximately equal parts. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. This can be made a day or two ahead of time.
- Serve soup in bowls topped with a little of the pepper relish and a little chopped cilantro. Serve alongside tortilla chips topped with softened goat cheese.