I don’t really cook a lot when C travels, as I find it incredibly dull to cook for myself every evening. Instead I tend to make a big bath of ‘something’ on Sunday or Monday and then eat my way through whatever it is throughout the week. Not very inspiring, but practical.

This week I have had a hankering for soup. A thick creamy vegetable based soup. After a little bit of research, I found a couple of recipes for a cauliflower soup that I liked the look of. And as I couldn’t decide between the two I opted to try combine all the elements I liked from both – and the result was marvellous!

A rich, creamy and cheesy soup, topped with crispy bacon bits. Not only is there something very comforting about this soup, but with the amount of cream and cheese in it, it is also very filling so it makes for a very satisfying meal. Perfect for those of you looking for low carb high fat meal option!

Now this is something I don’t mind eating every night of the week ;)

Creamy Cauliflower Cheese Soup

• Knob of butter
• 1 large onion – finely chopped
• 1 leek – finely sliced
• 1 – 2 stalks celery – finely sliced
• 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
• 700 ml chicken stock (any stock will do!)
• 400 ml milk
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or any other herb you fancy)
• 1 tsp mustard powder (optional)
• 150 ml cream
• 100 g parmesan cheese – grated
• Salt & pepper

To Serve

• Bacon – cut in small pieces and fried crispy
• Chives – finely sliced
• Swirl of olive oil

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Tip in the onions, leek and celery and cook until softened (about 5 mins) stirring often.

Add the cauliflower, stock, milk, mustard powder and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is very soft.

Add the cream and bring back to the boil.

In batches blend everything in the food processor until you get a creamy thick soup. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and over a low heat add the cheese – stir until cheese has melted. If the soup is too thick for your liking, add more milk to thin it out.

Once cheese has melted – taste then season appropriately with salt and pepper.  Note: As the parmesan cheese and the stock can be salty, I did not add any seasoning to the soup until the very end.

Serve with crispy bacon bits, chives and a swirl of olive oil.

Enjoy :)