If you love the comforting flavours of cauliflower cheese and also love finding ways to increase your intake of healthy leafy greens, then this Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Cavolo Nero is a great option for you!
Topped with cauliflower leaves that have been made extra crispy and delicious by baking with some olive oil and salt; this garnish ensures a zero waste approach.
Cauliflower leaves are one of those things that most people would throw away when preparing cauliflower, but they’re honestly delightfully moreish when treated right!
Can I use Cauliflower Cheese Leftovers in this Cauliflower Soup recipe?
Absolutely! It’s the perfect recipe for leftover cauliflower cheese!
I have a recipe for Oven Roasted Cauliflower Cheese and I use the same method of roasting the cauliflower in the oven first before making a cheese sauce (a béchamel sauce with cheese) to pour on top.
As you use flour to make the béchamel, the cheese sauce for cauliflower cheese is a bit thicker. However, this can be easily fixed by adding more liquid to the Cauliflower Cheese Soup (depending on how much leftovers you have!)
I always find myself with leftover cauliflower cheese at Christmas time and this recipe was born from using up Christmas leftovers. Simply soften the onion and swiss chard as per the recipe below first. Then add in your leftover Cauliflower Cheese and as much stock as you think you’ll need (you can always add more later). Use up some extra leftover cheese from the cheese board and blend it all up with some cream. Winning at leftovers!
Ingredients for Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Cavolo Nero
Cauliflower: I love cauliflower as it has a mild, nutty flavour that can help accompany and carry any other flavours. It’s why I like it as a base for this soup alongside the swiss chard and cheese. I have personally substituted it for anything, but you could try it with broccoli instead for fun!
Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper
Salted Butter: using butter to soften the vegetables adds a creamy splendidness to the soup, but you can substitute for oil if required. I use salted butter as well as it helps to season the soup at various stages of cooking, which removes the need to add any salt at the end.
Onion: brown onion when sauteed with the swiss chard adds a slight sweetness to the soup – I love using onion as the base to most of my soup recipes! You can use shallots, red onion or brown onion in this recipe.
Cavolo Nero: of all the leafy green vegetables that you can eat, cavolo nero (kale) is one of the best. Substitute with regular kale if it’s easier to source.
Chicken Stock: I use chicken bullion (stock) simply because I prefer the taste of chicken to work in tandem with the vegetables in this dish. But you can substitute for vegetable stock to make this soup suitable for vegetarians.
Cheese: use anything your heart desires! Like I say above, use up leftovers if needed – soup is the perfect option for this! I regularly use Pie d’Angloys from Marks and Spencers and also extra mature cheddar for a good punch of flavour. But make it using 100% cheddar if it’s what you have available, and then experiment with something different when you make it next time.
Water
Cream: double cream adds a luxurious richness to the final dish before serving. You can substitute for single cream or add more stock if preferred.
Garnish
Cauliflower Leaves: Use cauliflower leaves as a side dish instead of spinach, kale or chard, or as an ingredient in their own right, stir-fried with ginger and honey or fermented into a zero-waste cauliflower leaf and floret kimchi. Or, for a show-stopping drinks snack or side dish, just roast them. Tom Hunt, The Guardian
Olive Oil
Salt
Walnuts: these add a crunchy element to the final dish which provides textural joy alongside the crispy, crunchy leaves. You could substitute for macadamias, pine nuts or even flaked almonds.
Method for Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Cavolo Nero
Break up cauliflower, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper then roast in oven at 190C fan / 210C conventional / 375F for 30 mins
Melt butter in a large pot and add chopped onion and cavolo nero – cook until softened
Add roasted cauliflower, bullion powder (or dissolved stock cubes), water and blend of cheese then simmer for 20 minutes
Finally, add double cream and blitz until smooth in blender, food processor or using a hand blender
Serve with garnishes on top (see method below) if desired and enjoy!
Garnishes Method
Roughly chop walnuts and fry in pan until lightly toasted.
Coat cauliflower leaves in olive oil and a sprinkling of salt then airfry at 200C for approx 8-10 mins (or until golden) or oven bake at 200C for approx 12 minutes.
Soup Storage and Reheating
How long does it keep in the fridge? Approx. 4-5 days as long as your fridge is below 4C
Can you freeze it? The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. The exact duration will be dictated by what temperature your freezer is and also where in the freezer you store it.
What type of container can you freeze soup in? When freezing soup, you can use any freezer safe container – made of plastic, glass or freezer-safe bags (as this is also a good space saver).
And finally…
If you do choose to make it, I hope you enjoy it!
Why not try some of my other soup recipes like my Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, Traditional Scottish Lentil Soup or Celeriac and Apple Soup?
If you have any other questions, or want to tell me what you think of my recipe, then please leave a comment below!
Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Cavolo Nero
Ingredients
- 2 whole cauliflower
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 100 g salted butter
- 1 onion
- 200 g swiss chard
- 2 tbsp chicken bullion powder or 2 stock cubes dissolved in the water below (use vegetable stock for vegetarian meal)
- 1.5 litre water
- 200 g cheese I used 100g Pié d'Angloys & 100g extra mature cheddar
- 150 ml double cream
Garnish
- cauliflower leaves
- olive oil
- salt
- handful walnuts
Instructions
- Break up 2 whole cauliflower, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper then roast in pre heated oven at 190C for 30 mins
- Soften 1 onion (chopped) and 200 g swiss chard (chopped) in 100 g salted butter in a large soup pot
- Add roasted cauliflower, 2 tbsp chicken bullion powder, 200 g cheese and 1.5 litre water and simmer for 20 minutes on medium/high heat
- Add 150 ml double cream and blitz until smooth in blender
- Serve with garnishes on top if desired and enjoy!
Garnishes Method
- Roughly chop handful walnuts and fry in pan until lightly toasted
- Coat cauliflower leaves in olive oil and salt and airfry at 200C for approx 8-10 mins (or until golden)
