Leek & Cauliflower Soup

Sorry I haven't posted a recipe lately. I have had a lot going on around me and I feel like the world is spinning wrong or something. But occasionally, my Creative Cooking Muse gets through the fog and inspires me.

This time it was seeing some of the prettiest Leeks in the store and thinking "I haven't had Leek and Potato Soup in a while." Since Richard was diagnosed with High Triglecerides I have tried to watch how much I use regular potatoes in my recipes. Lately I had been making mashed Cauliflower to substitute Mashed Potatoes. So I thought, why not Leek & Cauliflower instead of Potatoes.

Leek & Cauliflower Soups

2 Heads of Cauliflower
8 Green Onions, White part
4 Large Cloves of Garlic, diced
2 Cups of Chicken Stock
3 Large Leeks (White up to the Light Green Part)
2 Cups Goat Yogurt
1 small package of Chevre Cheese (the one I used has a light honey flavor)

Tonight I cut up 2 really pretty heads of Cauliflower and put in my big Dutch Oven with 2 cups of Chicken Stock. I diced up 4 large cloves of Garlic and 8 Green Onions (whites only, saved the tops for another dish.)

While that simmered I started cleaning the Leeks. Leeks have a lot of sand/grit and need to be washed thoroughly before you cook them. So Cut the bottom off, and then peel off the outer leaf. Then cut in 1/4 inch rings and put into a strainer. I use my thumb to pushed the rings out so every layer can get washed off. I rinse well under running water and lift and turn the rings to make sure all the grit is washed away. Add the washed leeks to the pot and cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

At the 15 minute point I gave it all a good stir, covered and let simmer another 15 minutes. I repeated until the Cauliflower was soft and gets a bit translucent. I then used a good old fashioned Potato Masher. Yep, I have one of those. Mash the whole mix well and let simmer at least 10 more minutes.

That is when I get out the big guns, or in this case, the stick blender. To really reduce the mash to a more creamy texture. I added the Goat Yogurt and Chevre during this process and blended until completely smooth.

The final Soup is ultra thick and creamy. I served up a bowl and topped with just a sprinkle of Smoked Paprika. Heaven!


On a side note, when I had trouble cutting the Leeks with a Knife I pulled out my handy dandy Kitchen Scissors. Seriously, these are the best, I use them to cut chicken, julienne Spinach and cut through things that are harder to cut. I just love these because they come apart and wash easily as well as making it easy to sharpen them when they dull a bit. I found them at AgriSupply. I highly recommend having at least 1 or 2 pairs of these scissors in your kitchen.