I’m not much for food trends (ok fine, except avocado toast—DON’T TAKE AWAY MY AVO TOAST, OK???), but when they come in the form of a giant savory bowl of soothing soup, every fiber of my being says yes. I’ve been watching variations cauliflower soup float along my Instagram feed for months and finally decided enough was enough. It was time to make my own nutty, creamy, earthy, fulfilling mix of winter veggie delight.
Enter: Cauliflower Gruyere Soup with Crispy Chickpeas & Sage.
A word to the wise: This soup is very rich, and a little goes a rib-stickingly long way. The gruyere and roasted coriander bring a sweet roundness to the brightness of cauliflower, and crispy chickpeas and sage contribute super fun texture. (PS, I could eat crispy spiced chickpeas all day. So necessary).
Roasting the cauliflower before it ever imagines itself in soup form gives the soup a rootsy depth that is hard to get enough of. I add ume vinegar as a final touch that provides a salty/sour/sweet/umami kick.
This is an ideal mid-winter soup for any time of day, its density lending it perfectly to a main course for dinner or a hearty lunch.
Ingredients
soup
- 1 lbs large head cauliflower washed and separated into chunky florets, about 5
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp . ground coriander
- ½ tsp . sea salt
- 1 medium leek washed and whites and greens chopped
- 1 Tbsp . butter
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 tsp . ume plum vinegar
- ½ tsp . fresh cracked black pepper
- more sea salt to taste
crispy chickpeas
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 Tbsp . olive oil
- ½ tsp . cumin
- ½ tsp . coriander
- ½ tsp . fennel seeds
- 3 pinches smoked sea salt
crispy sage
- 1 Tbsp . olive oil
- 1 Tbsp . fresh sage leaves torn
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º. Spread cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, turning to coat. Sprinkle with 2 tsp. ground coriander and ½ tsp. sea salt. Roast for 15 minutes, until starting to brown and grow tender.
- While roasting, melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large stock pot. Put chopped leeks in the pot and sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring as they grow tender. Add 6 cups vegetable stock or broth and bring to a simmer.
- When cauliflower comes out of the oven, add it to the stock pot and continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes, allowing the flavors to marry.
- Bring heat to low, and add milk and grated gruyere. No need to stir—just let things naturally melt on down.
- As you let this mixture come into itself, place ½ tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. coriander, and ½ tsp. fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Grind together until you’ve got a relatively fine powder (some pieces of fennel seed are totes ok).
- Place a large frying pan with 2 Tbsp. olive oil on the stove, and add chickpeas. Add the ground spices and smoked sea salt. Stir to coat chickpeas, and cook on medium heat until chickpeas brown and start to pop (shake the pan as they cook). Remove from heat.
- Transfer soup from stockpot to blender in batches, blending on high until smooth. Place blended soup in a bowl until all is blended, then return it to the stockpot. Continue to stir soup on low heat, adding ume plum vinegar and any extra salt or water you desire. The soup will thicken considerably as it is served, so make it a tad thinner than you might expect.
- In a small frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil to high heat (test by tossing some droplets of water in—they should sizzle), then drop in your torn sage leaves. Let them sizzle for about 15-20 seconds, until crisp. Remove from heat.
- Serve soup in bowls, topped with a handful of crispy chickpeas and garnished with fried sage. I love it accompanied by a sourdough that’s been griddled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
