Chunky take on Cauliflower soup … Creamy vegetable chowder :)
Weather has turned here today, cold, wet and grey. Love my soup, so thought I would try a chunky vegetable chowder. Traditional one has potato, flour, butter and bacon as its base. This one uses my favourite vegetable on Opti, cauliflower, with added vegetables and caramelised stuff to mix in to make it scrummy. And very scrummy it is, glad I tried it before the sun comes out for good again !
If Leek and Cauliflower soup has been one of your favourites on Opti intensive, consider this one, it’s basically a revved up version ! Very filling too with the chunks of vegetables in there.
If you can have protein, I did add 100g diced white fish fillets to my hubby’s after I’d taken out my portions, which he really liked ! Just like a seafood chowder 🙂
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tbs dried thyme
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 medium cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Salt and black pepper
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook onion, garlic and thyme until brown and crispy (about 10 minutes).
- Remove 1/2 cup of this mixture to add back later.
- Add the chopped cauliflower, bay leaves and stock to the same saucepan. Bring to the boil then simmer, stirring occasionally, until really tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove 1/2 cup cooked cauliflower. Blitz the rest until smooth and creamy.
- Return saucepan with the creamy soup to the heat, on low, and add the diced carrot and celery. Cook for about 15 minutes until diced vegetables are soft. Stir through the reserved cauliflower pieces, onion mixture and parsley.
- Serve garnished with more parsley and black pepper.
- If you are able to have 100g protein and/or cooking for the family, add diced fish fillets or other seafood to make a fish chowder. Diced chicken thighs would also go well.
- Try to use low salt stock if possible.
- Freezes well.
- Nutritional Panel Information
- Please note that all recipes are intensive phase suitable. The nutritional panel is inaccurate. It is US based and therefore doesn't recognise some AUS/NZ ingredients. Also ensure you minus the fibre from the carb value in this panel to gain the net carbs. All Opti Cook recipes are under 100 cal and 10g carb per serve.
