Cauliflower Chowder

[Loupy]

Cauliflower Chowder
From:Kevin Lynch @ www.closetcooking.com/

A quick, easy, light, healthy and tasty chowder starring cauliflower as the main ingredient that is a bowl of comfort food at it's best!
The recipe as written is really good but I like to kick things up a bit by adding some umami in the form of melting parmesan cheese into the chowder, adding miso paste and finally by giving into my inner bacon addiction and topping things off with some crispy bacon! This is definitely one of my new favourite soups with it being both hearty and tasty while also being light and healthy and it's also a bowl of pure comfort food that is perfect for these cold winter days!


Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes


Servings: 4

ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/4 cup flour
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
2 bay leaves
1 cup milk or cream
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste


directions
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Mix in the garlic, thyme and flour and cook until the flour is lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
Slowly stir in the broth, deglazing the pan as you go, add the cauliflower and bay leaves, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the cream, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste, remove the bay leaves, remove from the heat and enjoy.

Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons white miso paste by taking some of the hot broth and mixing it into the miso in a bowl and then mixing it back into the chowder as you remove it from the heat. (The miso adds a nice umami flavour!)

Note: miso is salty so you will not need to season with as much salt.
Option: Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese! (More umami flavour!)
Option: Top with crumbled bacon!
Note: The cook time will vary depending on how large or small you cut the cauliflower.


Nutrition Facts:
Calories 178
Fat 8.5g
Saturated 1.8g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 468mg
Carbs 23g
Fiber 3.5g
Sugars 8.2g
Protein 4.8g