Cauliflower & Beer Soup
Recipe Creator: Chef Rob Thomas
Because we care, we've added veggies to your traditional beer and cheese soup to up the nutrition. We also swapped out the cheddar normally used and replaced it with creamy delicious Muenster. The melt of this cheese is perfect for soup!
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 6 strips cooked thick cut bacon, crumbled (optional)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 ½ cup carrots, diced
- 2tsp smoked paprika
- 2 x 355ml bottles brown ale (or other great tasting beer!)
- 3 cups chicken or veggie stock
- 8 oz / 230g Bothwell Muenster, shredded
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- Chopped chives, garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut off bottom of the cauliflower (the green part), cut the head into 4 pieces, cut out the center core and cut off just the florets. Spread-out cauliflower on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 -20 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft and golden brown, set aside.
- In a large soup pot, over medium heat, add onion and carrots, cooking until the vegetables they start to soften. Add smoked paprika, stirring until fragrant.
- Add beer, chicken stock and roasted cauliflower. Simmer for about 10 minutes until flavours are combined and all vegetables are soft.
- With an immersion blender*, puree soup until smooth. Add pureed soup back to the pot and cook over low heat.
- In a bowl, toss shredded Muenster cheese with cornstarch. Slowly add cheese to the soup, constantly stirring to prevent burning and to ensure the cheese incorporates properly. Continue stirring until all the cheese has been added and the soup is smooth.
- Garnish with crumbled bacon and chives. Serve with baguette or crusty bread.