It’s pouring outside and you need soup. Not a thin, watery one, but a thick, unctuous potage loaded with flavor. Welcome to your one-pot, pan-roasted, sweet and smoky super-satisfying bowl of soup.
Ingredients
1TbspOlive oil
2sprigsFresh thyme
1Yellow or white onion
2clovesGarlic
2largeCarrotsor 5 smaller
1headCaulifloweror 2 if small
5cupsVegetable broth
6ouncesSmoked gouda
2tspSalt
Pepper and additional saltto taste
Instructions
Dice or slice your onion, peel the garlic and slice the carrots (once for small carrots and in fourths, lengthwise, for larger ones. Prep the cauliflower by cutting in half, them removing the stem and cutting the head into smaller (2-3") pieces.
Pour the oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium and add the onion to sweat them. Add the garlic after about a minute or so, followed by the carrots. Add the cauliflower and stir. Cook this all for about 5 minutes, adding thyme, salt and pepper. You'll get a great deal more flavor in the soup if you allow the carrots and cauliflower to get some color.
Pour your broth into the pan and cover. Simmer until the carrots are tender. Taste and season accordingly.
Place all the contents of the pan into a blender and process with 3 ounces of the cheese (this is optional, but you'll thank us in the end), adding more broth if you want to thin it out.
Serve warm or pour into individual mugs or ramekins. Top with cheese and place under the broiler or toaster oven to melt the cheese.