Cauliflower Soup

It is definitely fall here and I've been craving warm soup!  I searched for 'Pioneer Woman Soup' on Pinterest and found this one first.  Since I had cauliflower in the fridge, I figured I better try it.  I can tell you now that it's one of the best soups I've ever had!  Seriously, it's SO good!  If you don't like cauliflower, you probably won't like it, but if you do, you'll love it!

Here's the link to Ree's recipe, and I'm posting the exact same one here.  Check out her page for more photos and an easy 'print recipe' button.

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter, Divided
• 1/2 whole Onion, Finely Diced
• 1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
• 1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
• 1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley, Chopped
• 2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock
• 6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
• 1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature

Preparation Instructions

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Serve immediately.

I only had one head of cauliflower and next time I will definitely use more - I like my soup thick and chunky and this was more broth-y.  It was still delicious, but I'll use more veggies next time.  I also didn't do the last step of adding sour cream, I don't think it needs it.  The soup was still just as good 3 days later!  However, it doesn't freeze well.  I put one baggie in the freezer to see how well it would freeze/thaw and the veggies got rubbery.  So make it for a crowd or eat it straight for a few days (which wasn't hard).