One of our all-time most popular recipes; the Cauliflower, Leek & Gruyere Soup is on regular rotation in our kitchen throughout Autumn and Winter. It's incredibly easy to make and calls for relatively few ingredients, so it's great for a light lunch or a quick weeknight dinner. It also makes a great starter or entree - you can prepare ahead of time and it's always a crowd pleaser. Serve with cheesy toasts for maximum gruyere goodness.
The soup on it's own is is keto-friendly, vegetarian and gluten free.
Cauliflower, Leek & Gruyere Soup w Cheese Toast
Servings
4
One of our all-time most popular recipes; the Cauliflower, Leek & Gruyere Soup is on regular rotation in our kitchen throughout Autumn and Winter. It's incredibly easy to make and calls for relatively few ingredients, so it's great for a light lunch or a quick weeknight dinner. It also makes a great starter or entree - you can prepare ahead of time and it's always a crowd pleaser. Serve with cheesy toasts for maximum gruyere goodness.
Author:Renee Sillato
Ingredients
olive oil
one leek
one tablespoon salted butter (optional - see note)
two tablespoons dijon mustard
one large head of cauliflower, cleaned and roughly chopped into florets
one litre of vegetable stock
gruyere cheese, approx 120g
200mL cooking cream
pink salt
black pepper
sourdough bread
butter
soup
Directions
remove the base and dark green tops of the leek; you will only want to use the light green and white parts. halve lengthways, then chop into half moons roughly half a cm in thickness.
warm a generous amount of olive oil in a heavy based stock pot. add the leek and toss to coat in oil and allow to cook until soft and translucent. add the butter while the leek is cooking, if using.
add the mustard and stir as it releases it's flavour, approx 30 seconds
add all of the cauliflower and stir to coat in mustard
add all of the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to a low heat
take your piece of gruyere and cut off the rind (the natural skin of the cheese), leaving it in one piece if possible. if there is any paper attached to the rind, remove and discard. add the rind to the stock to add the natural earthy flavour of the cheese to the stock. grate the cheese and reserve.
leave to cook for about an hour on low heat to allow the flavours to develop. remove the gruyere rind before blending - this is key or you will end up with a grainy texture.
add the cream and about half of the grated cheese and blend to a smooth consistency. if it's too thick, you can add a little bit of milk or water to thin it out a little, you may need to adjust the seasoning accordingly. season with salt and pepper.
to serve, ladle into warm bowls and dress with a drizzle of oil (see note) and cracked black pepper.
for cheesy toasts, toast or pan-fry slices of sourdough, spread with a lavish amount of butter then top with the remaining gruyere cheese. pop under the grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese, crack some pepper over the top and serve immediately.
Recipe Note
A note on butter:
Adding butter while cooking the leek will intensify the richness of the soup. I normally add the butter when serving small portions as a starter or an entree, but will leave it out when serving larger bowls of soup with bread for lunch or dinner.
A note on gruyere:
Gruyere is an icon of the Swiss Alps; a supple, semi hard cheese with a rich, earthy flavour and great melting quality. For our soup, we used Heidi Farm Gruyere which was made to a traditional recipe with top notch Tasmanian milk, lending an extra nutty and grassy quality. If you are buying Swiss Gruyere look out for the 'AOP' symbol to make sure you are buying an authentic product. Don't substitute with swiss cheese, emmental or other deli style cheeses as they are too mild and may not have a natural rind for you to use in your stock.
A note on toppings:
We've kept it simple here with a nice drizzle of olive oil and some cracked pepper. Opt for truffle oil to add an extra layer of richness and aromatic intensity if you are serving on a special occasion. Alternatively, caramelise another leek in a small fry pan with olive oil and honey and add to the top as a delicious garnish. Or, reserve some cauliflower florets before blending and place in the centre of the bowl and top a small spring of thyme.
A note on extras:
This soup is delicious exactly as is, but you can play around with some optional extras to suit your taste. Sometimes we will add a tin of well-washed cannellini beans for extra protein and nutritional value. You can also add a few potatoes, a finely sliced fennel or a celeriac to increase your veg-count. Or, pan fry some chorizo or speck and serve on top for a meatier dish.
Comments (3)
Shaza on April 20, 2023
This one is so good! Perfect in winter and so easy to make.
Bek on July 12, 2021
We made this tonight with AOP Gruyere cheese. Considering the simplicity of steps and ingredients I dint expect the soup to be so incredible. Delicious, filling and super easy! Thanks so much for sharing
Paul Looyen on June 01, 2021
A delicious soup, rich and flavourful. A drizzle of truffle oil definitely is worth it.
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