I had this soup at a French restaurant in Cleveland back in the eighties and it was so delicious I had to know how to make it. I just knew it was full of cream and butter but I was wrong. This was a little bistro where the Chef went around to the tables and talked to the customers so when she came to our table I had to ask her how to make this amazing soup. She didn’t give me the actual recipe but she told me basically how it was made. I spent some time perfecting it and the final version although it doesn’t always come out exactly the same is very very good. It is one of the first things I made my Sicilian husband when we were dating and he was hooked. It has always been one of my daughter’s favorites as well.

It is important to start with a tasty cauliflower. The best time to eat cauliflower for the best flavor is in late summer to early fall when the temperatures have cooled down and before a frost. Do not try and use a bad cauliflower that has been commercially grown in a hothouse and harvested during early spring. Of course, you can taste it first to make sure it’s good. You may think I am crazy for this but it really does make a difference.

How to do it

Select a nice cauliflower, wash it, and remove the leaves. Prepare it by cutting the flowerets off of the stem and discarding it. Add the flowerets to a large soup pot. You can taste the stem, if it’s sweet then peel it, cut it up, and add it to the pot along with the floweretes. To the pot add enough chicken broth to cover the cauliflower. Add salt and white pepper, and taste the broth to make sure you have enough salt. You can adjust it later but if you do not add salt now the soup will be bland. Add about 2 raw carrots cut into chunks, this adds depth and helps sweeten the soup. Don’t worry about cutting them perfectly you will be pureeing the soup once it is done. That’s it, now do you see why the cauliflower has to be a good one? It is pretty much all of the soup so if it’s not good it will ruin the soup. (I use a variety of broths here but my favorite is the Better than Bouillon chicken broth paste) .

Bring everything to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Allow it to simmer or low boil until the vegetables are cooked well enough to mash. Slow cooking allows the flavors to develop and makes it a richer-tasting soup. Once it is done remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Using an immersion blender blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy. Taste it and adjust the salt and pepper. You may also add some butter at this point if you feel you need it, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t it really depends on the flavor at the time.

Another option is to place a pat of butter into each bowl before serving. I like to garnish it with finely chopped fresh Italian parsley. Some people like to add curry to it or sprinkle it with sweet paprika as a garnish. Serve this with French bread, butter, and mild cheese. It’s really great served with a mild Brie spread on toasted slices of good French bread.