Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan Croutons

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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This recipe makes 8 servings

This recipe makes delicious and thrifty use of the 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick rinds that remain after grating wedges of Parmigiano-Reggiano. They infuse this velvety soup with a rich salty bite.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter 2 2tbsp tbspbutter
1 onion , chopped1 1oniononions, chopped
1 1oniononions or leek, (white and light green parts only) chopped
1 celery stalk , chopped1 1celery stalkcelery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic , minced1 1clove garliccloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 1/2tsp tspsalt
1 pinch ground nutmeg 1 1pinch pinchground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 1pinch pinchcayenne pepper
6 6cups cupscauliflower floretcauliflower florets, (about 1 head)
1 large potato , peeled and chopped1 1large potatopotatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock 3 3cups cupsvegetable stock
1-1/2 cups milk 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsmilk
1/4 cup dry sherry 1/4 1/4cup cupdry sherry or vegetable stock
2 2 rinds (each 4 x 2 inch/10 x 5 cm) rinds (each 4 x 2 inch/10 x 5 cm)Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or Parmesan cheese
Parmesan Croutons:
2 2cups cupscubed (1/4 inch/5 mm) day-old bread
1/3 1/3cup cupgrated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 2tbsp tbspextra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp crumbled dried thyme 1/4 1/4tsp tspcrumbled dried thyme
1 pinch salt 1 1pinch pinchsalt
1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 1pinch pinchcayenne pepper

Preparation

Parmesan Croutons: In bowl, toss together bread, cheese, oil, thyme, salt and cayenne; spread on rimmed baking sheet. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Let cool. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 5 days.)

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; fry onion, leek, celery, garlic, salt, nutmeg and cayenne, stirring often, until softened, about 8 minutes.

Stir in cauliflower, potato, stock, milk, sherry and cheese rinds; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly. With tongs, remove cheese rinds, scraping any gooey cheese back into soup. Discard rinds.

In batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, in airtight container until cold. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Return to clean saucepan; heat through over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with Parmesan Croutons.

Additional information :

Tip: You can substitute 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely grated Parmesan cheese for the Parmesan rinds. Add it to the soup just before pur?ng.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: February 2007