Early autumn in Utah usually brings the occasional cold, rainy day. I welcome the chill after the long weeks of 90 degree weather. I open all my sliding doors and windows and let the cool breeze air out the house. The gentle sound of rain goes perfectly with the savory smell of soup cooking on the stove and fresh bread browning in the oven! This hearty soup recipe came about recently while camping with a group of friends. We decided to add fun to dinnertime with a camp cooking competition. Since there was plenty of men in the group, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with soup that included beer and cheese. Sure enough, the result was delicious and won me the 2nd place award on our trip!
Start by chopping 1 leek, 3 cloves garlic, and 2 stalks celery.
Saute over medium high heat with 2 T olive oil.
Chop 1 head of cauliflower and add to the sauteed mixture.
Pour in 1 cup of beer and 1 can vegetable stock
Cover the pot with lid and let it steam for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
Now pour entire contents into a blender or food processor.
In the now empty pot, add butter and flour
Stir over medium heat for 5 minutes using caution so it doesn’t burn.
Pour in milk, bring to a boil and then reduce to medium low heat.
Add cheese 1/4 cup at a time to gradually melt into soup.
Add seasonings
Give it a good stir
Pour cauliflower mixture into soup and let it simmer 15 minutes over medium low heat.
Dish up immediately. Serve with that bread fresh from your oven. Add rain for the perfect autumn day!
Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 leek
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 cups beer
- 1 can vegetable stock
- 2 T flour
- 2 T butter
- 4 cups milk
- 2 cups cheese
- 1 cup beer
- 1 T celery seed
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 T ground sage
Instructions
- Start by chopping 1 leek, 3 cloves garlic, and 2 stalks celery.
- Saute over medium/high heat with 2 T olive oil.
- Chop 1 head of cauliflower and add to the sauteed mixture.
- Pour in 1 cup of beer and 1 can vegetable stock.
- Cover the pot with lid and let it steam for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
- Pour entire contents into a blender or food processor.
- In the same pot used to saute, add 2 T butter and 2T flour. Mix over medium/high heat constantly for 5 minutes.
- Pour in milk, bring to a boil and then reduce to medium/low heat. Make sure you stir constantly.
- While stirring, add shredded cheese 1/4 cup at a time until melted.
- Pour cauliflower mixture and seasonings into milk mixture and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Spoon and serve with warm bread!
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