Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Caramelized Onions

Growing up in Vienna, it was a given to start our meal off with a bowl of soup before the main course. My Omi always made the best soups in the world and each time I make a soup, I think of her. Most of the everyday soups that she made were broth based, but she made the most delectable cream soups. She had a penchant for either adding rich cream, or roux and even adding some sherry or cognac to her cream based soups.

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

A steaming bowl of creamy velvety smooth soup warms your heart and soul, no matter what the weather. Now with a family of my own, I have continued with the tradition, just not as often and certainly not before each main course. I am also thrilled that my husband gets all fuzzy on me when he comes home to the aromas of a wonderful pot of soup.

This is a rich, creamy, velvety and satisfying non-dairy soup. The sweetness added by the bits of caramelized onions and the creamy texture of the blended cauliflower are married into a wonderful bowl of goodness.

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 large head of cauliflower or 7 cups of cauliflower florets

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped (1 large and 1 medium sized clove)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Caramelized Onions (see recipe)

Cauliflower Caramelizing

Start by caramelizing the onions. Once they are finished, remove the onions from the pot and add the cauliflower florets, using the left over oil in the pan to brown them for 3 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic, tossing occasionally in the pot for another 5 minutes. The cauliflower will start caramelizing a bit and will also start softening a bit. Pour the vegetable broth in the pot and bring to a boil. Once brought to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

Cauliflower on Vegetable Broth with Thyme Leaves

Once the soup has cooled use a hand immersion blender to blend the soup. Leave a few small florets in the soup for texture. Then add ½ of the caramelized onions to the soup, so you have bits of sweet, soft onions that you can bite into but leaving the rest for when you are ready to serve the steaming soup in bowls. Portion the balance of the caramelized onions evenly in four portions. Before serving each bowl of soup, add the final touch…the caramelized onions and a sprig of thyme just to please the eyes.

This serves for 4. Voilà. Enjoy a bowl of goodness!