Grilled cauliflower soup recipe

This simple grilled cauliflower soup only has a few ingredients but so much flavour - it's creamy, cosy bowl food.

This is an easy cauliflower soup recipe, finished with a flashy garnish. Once the soup is portioned up into bowls, you top it with cheese (plus extra cauliflower if you want) and grill it for a tasty, crisp topping. It's an optional flourish, because the soup is delicious as it is. However, the garnish adds a a little extra something if you're serving to guests or as part of a special meal. Cauliflower is a year-round vegetable, and this soup is suitable for any season. In winter, the bubbling cheesy topping is immensely comforting. Meanwhile in summer it's delightfully low fat, in case you're thinking about bikinis.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium cauliflower, about (850g), broken into florets
• 350g onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• Sprig of rosemary, leaves only
• 1 tbsp flour
• 900ml semi-skimmed milk
• 500ml low-salt chicken stock, or vegetable stock if you're making it for vegetarians
• 125g low-fat hard cheese, finely grated
• 1 tsp paprika
• Ground black pepper

Method

1. In a large saucepan heat the oil and stir in the onion and cauliflower, garlic and rosemary. Cook, stirring, for at least 10 mins or until the onion is very soft and a golden colour.
2. Stir in the flour, milk and chicken stock. Season and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for about 30-35 mins or until the cauliflower is very soft.
3. Cool the soup a little then puree in a blender or processor. Return the soup to the rinsed pan and reheat gently. Dilute, if necessary, with a little extra stock and season.
4. Turn the grill on to high and place the bowls in a roasting tin. Stir 50g low-fat grated hard cheese into the soup and ladle into shallow heatproof soup bowls (the bowls need to be quite full).
5. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and a little paprika over the soup.
6. Boil a kettle of water and pour the hot water into the roasting tin around the base of the bowls. Using oven gloves, carefully lift the roasting pan under the grill and cook for about 5-10 mins or until the tops are golden and bubbling.
7. Carefully remove the roasting tin from the grill and lift the bowls out. Gently wipe dry and garnish with rocket leaves if you want. Serve the soup with warm crusty bread or cheese scones.

Top tips for grilled cauliflower soup

To keep the salt content low we've used low salt stock and only added pepper in the seasoning. This keeps the soup healthy and you should find it is still well seasoned.

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