French Cauliflower Soup with Bacon and Herb Garnish
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: French
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
For the soup
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T butter
  • 2 large yellow onions
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 stalks celery
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 12 oz. cauliflower florets (I cheat and buy the prebroken florets at Trader Joe's)
  • 6 c. chicken broth
  • Salt and Pepper
For the garnish:
  • Pancetta or thick cut bacon, cut into cubes
  • Sturdy bread (I like the Pain Pascal from Trader Joe's), cut into small cubes
  • raw cauliflower, 1-2 florets, diced into tiny pieces (kitchen shears work admirably)
  • chives, minced
  • creme fraiche - 1-2 T per bowl
Instructions
To make the soup:
  1. Finely chop the onions, garlic, celery and thyme.
  2. In a 4 qt. pot or dutch oven, melt the butter and the olive oil together. Add the chopped onions, garlic, celery and thyme, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Stir together to coat the vegetables in the butter, then cover and cook, stirring frequently, over low heat for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the cauliflower and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft.
  4. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Serve over garnish, with additional pepper.
To garnish:
  1. Fry the pancetta or bacon, then set aside and crisp the bread cubes into croutons in the bacon fat.Pile the croutons, bacon, cauliflower, and chives in a shallow soup bowl. Top with creme fraiche, and ladle hot soup over the whole.
Notes
Soup recipe from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. I can't recommend this cookbook enough
Recipe by The Domestic Front at http://www.thedomesticfront.com/french-cauliflower-soup-with-bacon-and-herb-garnish/