Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Gruyere and Bacon

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut or break the cauliflower into large chunks, then break one or two chunks into bite-sized florets (about 1 cup total). Spread the florets on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast cauliflower for 20–25 minutes until dark at the edges and soft.

Meanwhile, make the soup. In a soup pot, add bacon pieces and turn heat to medium-high. Cook bacon until crispy, stirring as you go, for 7 minutes or so until bacon is crisp. Remove it to a paper towel to drain, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Reduce heat on the pot to medium, and add onion. Stir for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the soup pot, then add garlic and stir for 1 minute more. Add stock and stir for another minute, then add remaining cauliflower chunks and the thyme.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the soup for 30 minutes or as long as necessary for the cauliflower to be very well cooked, almost falling apart.

When cauliflower is cooked through in the soup pot, transfer the entire mixture to a blender. Blend until very smooth, then return the soup to the pot. Stir in half of the cheese and all of the cream, then taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your preference.

Serve the soup topped with bacon, roasted cauliflower, and remaining grated cheese. Sprinkle with herbs if you’d like and serve with bread for dipping.

Enjoy!

Note: Vegetarian if you omit the bacon and use vegetable stock.