Cauliflower Soup

This CooksIllustrated soup is creamy, rich, super flavorful, AND GOOD FOR YOU!  This soup, believe it or not, contains no stock and uses water as it's liquid component but it is still packed full of flavor.  It does take a little bit of work to make, but it contains few ingredients and is definitely worth the minor effort to make.

This recipe uses butter, but I wanted to make this completely vegan so I made it with extra virgin olive oil instead.  I will list both methods.

I tried this with a little hot sauce, but I didn't feel it matched well.

ingredients:
serves 4-6
1.  1 head cauliflower (2 pounds)
2.  8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces, or 4 TBL (3 for cooking, 1 for garnish) of extra virgin olive oil + 5 TBL of vegetable oil
3.  1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
4.  1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
5.  Salt and pepper
6.  4 1/2 – 5 cups water
7.  1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar
8.  finely chopped chives or green onion 
9.  Blender or food processor


recipe:
1.  Pull off outer leaves of cauliflower.
2.  Using a paring knife, cut around the core to remove it.  Cut 1/16" off the bottom of the stem to remove the brown bottom.  Trim the core down and remove any green areas so that it is smooth and beige.  Slice the stem into 1/8" slices and set aside.
note: - the green areas on the stem are tough and fibrous, so make sure to trim down the stem well until it is smooth and beige.
3.  Cut 1 heaping cup of the head into small 1/2" florets and set aside to be fried up as garnish later.  Cut the remaining cauliflower crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
4.  Melt 3 tablespoons butter (or 3 TBL extra virgin olive oil) in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until leek and onion are softened but not browned, about 7 minutes.
5.  Increase heat to medium-high, add 4 1/2 cups water, sliced core, and half of sliced cauliflower, and bring to simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
6.  Add remaining sliced cauliflower.  There should be just enough water in the pot so that the cauliflower is just peaking out of the water.  The water should not completely cover the cauliflower.  Add just enough water to achieve this level (you may not have to add any water depending on the size of your cauliflower).  Return to simmer, and continue to cook until cauliflower is tender and crumbles easily, 20 minutes longer.
7.  While soup simmers, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter (or 5 TBL vegetable oil) in 8-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add reserved florets and cook, stirring frequently, until florets are golden brown and butter is browned and imparts nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes.
8.  Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to transfer florets to small paper towel lined plate to drain.  Transfer drained florets to a small bowl, then toss with vinegar and a pinch of salt.  Pour browned butter in skillet into small bowl and reserve for garnishing (if vegetable oil was used, just discard or save for another recipe)
9.  Transfer all the contents in the sauce pan to a blender or food processor, working in batches if necessary.  Process soup in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds (1 minute for food processor).
10.  Rinse out the sauce pan then return pureed soup to pan and set over medium low heat, adjusting the consistency with water as needed (soup should have a thick, velvety texture but should be thin enough to settle to a flat surface after being stirred)
11.  Season with salt to taste.  I ended up adding around 2-3 tsp of salt.
12.  Serve, garnishing individual bowls with browned florets, drizzle of browned butter (or fresh extra virgin olive oil), chives, and 2-6 cracks of black pepper depending on your taste.