Creamy Carrot Cauliflower Soup

An easy vegetarian soup that’s pleasing to the eye and the palate. I’ve really been reveling in the joys of cauliflower lately and all the wonderful ways you can use it to lighten up your diet. This lovely soup is just one more bit of evidence that you can eat light and still love what you’re eating. It’s creamy, it tastes so rich, like it’s laced with heavy cream, but there’s no cream at all! There is cheese (because … cheese!), enough to make it flavorful, but not enough to weigh it down.

I made this soup on a particularly cold, wet spring day. It’s been a chilly spring for us this year. Every time we get a little warm spell, another cold rainy spell sets upon us. My back yard is a complete swampy mess, totally overgrown as I wait for it to dry out and make a feeble attempt to fight with the mower to start. Okay, honestly, I haven’t made much of an effort to start the mower. Mowers and other mechanical machines totally intimidate me. Whenever I need to use one, I want to go hide under a blanket or do ANYTHING else besides struggle with the machine. Usually I head to the kitchen and pretend like it’s really important that I cook this new thing. I would love to have a pretty yard, but I am NOT mechanically inclined at all, and I don’t believe in using yard chemicals either. I feel very bad for my neighbors and I’m sure they all (secretly) hate me.

BUT I think I may have struck up a genius deal with one of my friends who loves to mow. She hates to cook. I love to cook and I hate to mow. How beautiful is this? We complement each other so perfectly! I think I need to talk to her and work out some sort of regular schedule for trading food for mowing. Do you suppose she likes soup? She must … because seriously, who doesn’t like soup? (aside from my ex-boyfriend … but let’s just not go there …)

Creamy Carrot Cauliflower Soup

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled & chopped
• 3 – 5 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 of a large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons better than boullion (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 bay leaf
• About 1 cup (2 oz.) shredded MontAmore cheese (or other flavorful cheese)
• 4 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
• 1 cup 1% milk
• For garnish: extra shredded cheese (or carrots) & fresh thyme sprigs

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Instructions

1. Heat a soup pot over medium heat, then add the butter or olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is very soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the carrot and cook a few minutes longer, then add the cauliflower, water, boullion and bay leaf. Cover and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is nice and tender.
3. Remove the bay leaf and pour the rest into a blender. Add the shredded cheese, Greek cream cheese and milk and blend until smooth.
4. Serve hot, garnished with shredded carrot or shredded cheese and fresh thyme.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2016, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. I love it when you share, but please do not use my images on your own site/page without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. Sharing, pinning, and tweeting is always appreciated as long as the shares and pins link back to here for the recipe. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: about 1 cup
• Calories: 143 calories per serving

This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friends Friday, Let’s Get Real and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.