oh my gosh. this is fabulous… I got a bunch of cauliflower and broccoli in my produce delivery this week, and had to make something with it. and so I did! YUM SCRUM!
this is VERY easy!
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower, washed and cut into small pieces
1 large head broccoli, washed and cut into small pieces
4 Tbs olive oil
salt
4 strips crumbled bacon (I cooked mine in the oven on parchment paper) after the veggies were cooked, and then used a bit of the bacon fat to cook the onion!
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 cups low salt chicken broth
1 cut fat free half and half (you could probably use 2% or even 1% milk)
6-8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. Spread broccoli pieces on one sheet pan; cauliflower on another. Drizzle each pan with 2 Tbs of olive oil. Season with salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Switch the pans half way thru cooking. The cauliflower was baked quicker than the broccoli in my oven. Reserve about 3/4 cup of each.
In a Dutch oven, put about 1 Tbs of bacon fat (once again I cooked my bacon in the oven and just reserved the fat) and heat over medium high heat. Add the onions to the pot, coking for about 4-6 minutes or until they are soft. Add the minced garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Pour in the broth and the remaining cauliflower and broccoli. Cover, turn up the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to blend the soup (or you can puree in a blender) until smooth. Add in the half and half, the reserved vegetables and 4 oz grated cheddar cheese. Stir until soup is combined and cheese is melted and soup is heated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve:
Ladle soup into bowls, top with additional cheese, and crumbled bacon. I added more pepper to mine as I love black pepper!
As always – enjoy!!