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Hearty Cauliflower Soup with Sausage and Pesto

Hearty Cauliflower Soup with Sausage and Pesto

Hi, my name is Eitan Bernath, and I love cauliflower! It was the first vegetable I ever liked as a kid, to my parent’s absolute delight. My go-to way of making it is: roasted until it’s golden brown and crispy, and then drizzling with tahini straight out of the oven (and for the record, this preparation literally always slaps). That said, I am trying to find new ways of incorporating veggies into my meals, so I set out to make a soup with my favorite vegetable that’s as easy as it is delicious. This soup comes together in under an hour, but has deep, rich flavor, as if it’s been simmering on the stove all day long.

This recipe starts by rendering the fat from hot Italian sausage, so you start with tons of flavor from the first step. Then, leeks and LOTS of garlic are caramelized together, and then the star of the show – the cauliflower – finally joins the party. I add potatoes as well to give the soup some heft, and then the entire thing is blended up into a vegetal, hearty, flavor packed soup. I top it all off with pesto, which adds just the right amount of fresh, herbaceousness and acidity. This soup is perfect for lunch or dinner, weekly meal preppers, and it freezes well, so you can make it days or weeks in advance of when you need it! My family is a BIG Soup Family, so I know you’ll love this one as much as we do!


1. Caramelized Veggie Tips

The secret to perfect caramelized veggies is patience. They have to be cooked low and slow so that the sugars slowly caramelize rather than burn! If you see your leeks starting to get too dark, turn the heat down and add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan to slow the cooking process down.

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2. Potatoes in a Cauliflower Soup?

It may sound strange to add a competing vegetable to the cauliflower, but the potatoes are essential for the creamy texture and heartiness of this soup.


3. Pesto!

I don’t think most home cooks think about topping their soups with anything, but it’s a super easy way to make a one-bowl meal even more delicious. This pesto comes together in a few minutes in a food processor, and it enhances every flavor of the soup perfectly.