Showstopper When You InstantPotter Some Cauliflower Soup
Sorry if the title made you groan. But as the weather turns cooler and the days grows shorter all I can think about is soup. My perfect fall meal is a bowl of hearty soup, a chunk of warm crusty bread spread with sweet butter, a bottle of Chianti and some nice fava beans…just KIDDING, no Chianti or fava beans. I came across a recipe on Pressure Cooker Recipes for a cauliflower soup that #1-looked and sounded delicious and #2-can be made in a snap in an Instant Pot- WIN-WIN.
Pressure Cookr Recipes (not the most original title but spot on) is a great resource not just for recipes but for tips and info on how to use your pressure cooker. There are quite a few soup recipes but this one stood out since I really like cauliflower. For the soup I used red potatoes but any waxy potato will do such as white rose or Yukon Gold. If cauliflower doesn’t float your boat, I think broccoli would work well also. To lighten the soup you can use half and half or whole milk in place of heavy cream or decrease the amount of cream by half and add a bit more stock. A nice green salad, a baguette and a bowl of this soup…yep, living the good life.
Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower floret
- 2 small red potatoes chunked
- 4 cups 1 L of unsalted homemade chicken stock
- 6 cloves of garlic minced
- 6 slices of bacon chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 cup 250 ml of heavy cream
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 stalks of green onions chopped
- Optional: 2 tablespoons 30 ml fish sauce
- Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Place chopped bacon in your Pressure Cooker and turn heat to medium (Instant Pot: press Sauté button). Stir occasionally and allow the bacon bits to crisp (~4 mins). Remove bacon bits from pressure cooker and place on paper towel to absorb the excess fat.
- Sauté onions in bacon fat for roughly 1– 2 minutes until soften. Add in garlic and half of the green onions. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper if you like. Sauté until fragrant.
- Deglaze: Pour ~ ⅓ cup (100 ml) chicken stock. Scrub all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Keep the brown bits as they are very flavorful.
- Pressure Cook the Cauliflower Potato Soup: Add 2 bay leaves, cauliflower, and 2 red potatoes in the pressure cooker. Pour the remaining chicken stock into pressure cooker.
- Close the lid and cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a 10 minutes Natural Release. Open the lid carefully.
- Remove Bay Leaves. Blend cauliflower soup into desired consistency with an immersion hand blender. Add 1/2 -1 cup (250 ml) of heavy cream. Taste the soup and season with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fish sauce and kosher salt.
- Serve: Garnish with green onions, crispy bacon bits, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy immediately. I think you will love it 🙂
Notes
- Thinner Consistency: If you like a thinner soup consistency, add hot homemade unsalted chicken stock to adjust the thickness of the soup.
- Smaller Cauliflower Florets: break the larger pieces into smaller florets, so it'll be easier to blend.
- Crispy Bacon: It's important to place the bacon in the cold pot before turning on the heat (see tips section in the article).
