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Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup

January 26, 2007 by Nicole 37 Comments

Creamy Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup

Well, after all my talk about the warm, sunny days we’ve been having around here, the skies are now gloomy and overcast. It’s still not very cold but the dreary weather makes me crave something warm and comforting. And since my husband won’t be home for a while yet, I settled for some soup.

My original intention was to make the cream of artichoke soup featured on the Castroville Artichoke Festival Web site. I had a bunch of little artichokes in the fridge and I thought it would be an interesting way to use them since I had never tasted artichoke soup. But then I realized that I also had an entire head of cauliflower tucked away that I had been saving for soup.

Hmmmm. Guess what I did?

Of course I ended up throwing everything together and creating a completely different kind of soup.

I’ve been wanting to roast some cauliflower ever since I wrote about the roasted broccoli. And, after seeing a few creamy cauliflower soup recipes around, I was inspired to try a creamy roasted cauliflower soup. But when I read about the creamy artichoke soup, I couldn’t let go of that idea either. Yes, I have a thing for creamy soups and, well, creamy things in general. Here’s what I ended up doing:

I boiled my artichokes in water with some lemon juice, bay leaves and peppercorns thrown in.

artichokes-in-pot.jpg

Then I cut them in half and removed the hearts. Instructions for preparing artichokes can be found here.

cut-artichokes.jpg

In the meantime, the cauliflower had been roasting away in the oven.

roasted-cauliflower.jpg

It turns out that Roasted cauliflower and artichoke hearts taste pretty good all blended up together with a little cream, lemon zest and thyme (but really, what doesn’t taste good blended with cream, lemon zest and thyme?).

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Artichoke Soup

1 head cauliflower
extra virgin olive oil
1 C. artichoke hearts (I cooked my own but you’re welcome to try canned)
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
4 C. vegetable stock (or substitute chicken broth or plain water)
1 C. light cream (or half and half, whole milk, or even heavy cream)
zest of one lemon
leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme, crushed
salt
fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash cauliflower then cut into flowerets.
3. In a large bowl toss cauliflower with enough olive oil to lightly coat all the pieces then spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Place cauliflower in a preheated 425 degree oven and roast, turning pieces occasionally until almost tender (between 20-30 minutes)
5. Remove cauliflower pieces to a bowl with tongs; set aside. There should be some olive oil left on the baking sheet. Very carefully pour the leftover oil into a soup pot or dutch oven.
6. Add minced garlic to the oil in the pot and saute over medium heat until just golden.
7. Add cauliflower, artichoke hearts and vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat way down and simmer for a few minutes until cauliflower is fully tender (check with fork).
8. Remove pot from heat and let cool slightly. Puree the soup until smooth using a food processor, blender, or immersion blender. Return to pot.
9. Gently reheat soup then add one cup of light cream, zest of one lemon (not juice), crushed thyme, and lots of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Soup can be thinned with extra broth or water if desired. Remove from heat when soup is heated through again.
10. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Herbs and Spices, Main Courses, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patricia Scarpin says

    January 28, 2007 at 9:24 pm

    Nicole, This is a fantastic recipe. I've always been a big fan of cauliflower and artichoke but have never had them together! As soon as this hot weather gives us a break here I'll try this soup.
    Reply
  2. Caroline says

    January 29, 2007 at 5:06 am

    Sounds great. Your photos are so gorgeous. Makes me want to stop being so lazy and cook with fresh artichokes!
    Reply
  3. madchilli says

    January 29, 2007 at 3:21 pm

    This sounds like a wonderful combination. And roasting the cauliflower must add a different flavour dimension. I absolutely love artichokes. It's not the prettiest of things but behind it's thorny appearance lies a really wonderful earthy and rustic flavour. Oh, and did I mention I like cauliflower as well? :)
    Reply
  4. Julie O'Hara says

    January 29, 2007 at 5:08 pm

    I love roasted cauliflower (and broccoli too). Your artichokes are ridiculously pristine and beautiful! I can never bring myself to buy them fresh in the grocery store because they are already brown and abused. This looks like a perfect soup for a gloomy day.
    Reply
  5. misslionheart says

    January 30, 2007 at 12:30 am

    Consider it done!
    Reply
  6. Tim says

    January 30, 2007 at 3:10 am

    Roasting the caulifower is a seriously clever idea to give it some extra flavour, and you are quite right anything combined with cream, lemon and thyme will taste great!
    Reply
  7. Mimi says

    January 30, 2007 at 4:11 am

    I like the idea of roasting the cauliflower first, too. I made cauliflower soup with lime and cumin recently, but I think I like the artichoke approach better. Such stunning artichokes — the subtle colors!
    Reply
  8. Nicole says

    January 30, 2007 at 2:48 pm

    Amanda: Thanks. Yeah, I don't think it's a combination that many have tried. It was just one of those things that happened :-) Patricia: Thanks! Hope you enjoy it when some soup weather comes your way! Caroline: Thanks for the compliment! Artichokes seem intimidating at first but they're really not that hard to deal with. madchili: I disagree...I think artichokes are beautiful ;-) Thanks for stopping by again! Julie O'Hara: Yes, the artichokes here are beautiful! Although even beat up ones will have a tasty heart :-) misslionheart: Let me know what you come up with! Tim: Yes, whoever first came up with the idea of roasting vegetables is a genius! Mimi: Mmmm...I bet the lime and cumin was good too! That's one of my favorite combos although I must say I've never tried it with cauliflower.
    Reply
  9. misslionheart says

    February 1, 2007 at 10:46 pm

    I made the soup you suggested earlier in your comments, using butternut squash, sweet potato and parsnips (forgot to roast the parsnips for Sunday lunch) A little too sweet for me but my daughter has been bringing it to school this week in her flask! I'll add ground cumin to the remainder for my lunch tomorrow.
    Reply
  10. Adrienne says

    February 7, 2007 at 7:10 am

    This looks delicious. Great photos too. Thanks for sharing!
    Reply
  11. SilverSara says

    February 13, 2007 at 2:33 am

    Oooh - gorgeous! I'm going to have to make this: two of my favourite ingredients combined! Thanks! -sara
    Reply
  12. Amanda P says

    March 4, 2007 at 11:55 pm

    Thank you for this recipie, we made it last night! We ended up using canned Artichoke in some marinated liquid, bc we can not get them seasonally in Maine. When we make this next time we will not use marinated Artichokes we will just use them in oil or water. THank you again for giving us this recipie! I love it.
    Reply
  13. Ocean Mist Artichokes says

    July 29, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    Ocean Mist is the largest grower of fresh Artichokes in the United States and grows them year-round in three ideal California locations: Castroville, Oxnard and Coachella.
    Reply
  14. LisaSD says

    October 19, 2008 at 4:53 pm

    Thank Goodness posts stays up for years so those of us who are just getting to know you can still see them! I will definitely be trying this soup. It has two of my absolutely favorite vegetables in them and I think that was very innovative of you to combine them. I can't wait to try them and hope that I can still find some tasty fresh artichokes to use.
    Reply
  15. Kalona says

    November 20, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Made this recipe last night ... Well ... Almost! Everything was a go, until it was time to add the artichokes. I was so pleased to finally have a use for that can of artichokes that has been on my shelf. ... Apparently for YEARS! I opened the can ... checked the date and into the trash it went. Whew! I'm happy to report that the soup was really good ... even without the artichokes!
    Reply
  16. Bonquisha says

    January 26, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    Have you heard of frozen artichokes? ?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      January 28, 2021 at 6:28 pm

      Frozen or canned artichokes would be great in this recipe!
      Reply
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