Creamy Cauliflower Soup

The weather's turning cold. Time for soup.

When I was little, soup was my favorite food.

I ate it for breakfast.

I ate it for lunch.

I ate it for dinner.

I mean, I really loved soup.

On my birthday, my mom would make four kinds of soup as my special birthday dinner.

The Vegetarian loves soup too. And she likes vegetables. (Which is a good thing, because otherwise she wouldn't be a very successful vegetarian.)

This soup is one of her favorites. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid.

Still is.

This soup was taught to me by my Hungarian mother. She made it using several different steps and pots, but as I am lazy busy I have simplified it down into a one-pot process.

Since this soup is Hungarian, it contains oodles of dill. And sour cream, oodles of sour cream. No one would mistake it for health food.

But it does have cauliflower. So I guess it's kinda sorta good for you.

Here's what you'll need to make it:

Cauliflower (I was tired and running late, so I had Mr. Coffee get me some already cut-up cauliflower at the vegetable market. I'm sure I will burn in hell for that)

Dill (And lots of it. My mother always used dried because she couldn't get fresh, but fresh is better if you can get it.)

Butter

Flour

Sour Cream

Salt

Pepper (didn't make it into the picture somehow)

Oh, and you'll also need these, to make the dumplings:

One egg, salt, and some sort of neutral (ie not olive) oil. And cream of wheat, the most important dumpling ingredient, which I somehow didn't manage to get a picture of.

Are you ready? let's get cooking!

First, make the dumpling batter. Beat 1 egg with about a tablespoon of oil in a bowl. Then add in about 3 tablespoons of cream of wheat and a pinch of salt.

The mixture should be loose—not stiff.

Put it in the fridge and begin the soup:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy pot.

Then add about 2 tablespoons of flour.

We're making a roux here. Let it cook for a few minutes but not get brown.

Once the roux is done, add some water and bring it to a boil, whisking vigorously every so often to avoid lumps.

Then throw in the cut-up cauliflower, the chopped dill, salt and pepper (I like lots of pepper) and water to cover. Bring to a boil again.

Once it comes back to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and grab your dumpling batter from the fridge. (It will have thickened up.) Drop it into the soup by quarter teaspoonfuls.

Cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cauliflower is mushy and the dumplings are soft.

Turn off the heat and add about a cup of sour cream.

Voila! Creamy cauliflower soup.

The Vegetarian likes to eat hers with some Texas Pete hot sauce added into her bowl.

She got that from me.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

For the dumplings:

1 egg

1 tablespoon oil

3 tablespoons cream of wheat (regular or quick)

pinch of salt

Beat egg and oil together in a bowl. add cream of wheat and salt. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

For the soup:

1 head cauliflower, cut up

1 bunch dill, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

salt

pepper

1 cup sour cream

Make roux. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir to cook for 2 minutes, to avoid a raw flour taste. Don't let the roux brown.

Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil, whisking vigorously and often.

Add cauliflower, dill, salt, pepper, and more water to cover.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

Add dumpling batter, a quarter-teaspoonful at a time.

Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes.

Turn off heat, uncover, and add sour cream.

Serve garnished with extra dill and sour cream (and Texas Pete), if desired.