Wisconsin Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

This is a delicious, creamy soup that tastes fancy but is easy to make! Because you puree some of the cauliflower, it has a wonderful texture that appears to be made with cream, but it's "just" milk.

Start by sauteing onions in melted butter.



When the onions are soft, add the flour and salt, and cook and stir until bubbly.



Add the chicken broth,



then the milk,



and the water. Next add the cauliflower,



and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cauliflower is tender. (If you're using frozen, it will take considerably less time. I usually use frozen, just for the convenience factor! But if you find a great sale on fresh, by all means, use that.)

Next, you'll want to puree the soup a bit. I use my immersion blender.



If you make soup a lot, this is a great investment. It is kind of a pain to take soup, put it in the blender in batches, put the pureed stuff in a different pot, etc. But it CAN be done. If you're using a regular blender, puree the soup in batches, and remove the center part of the lid to let steam escape. I used to lightly drape a dish towel over the top just to avoid soup on the ceiling!

You can puree the soup as much or as little as you want. I usually do it about half, that way there are some pieces of cauliflower left. If you've used a regular blender, return soup to the original pot and heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from the heat, and add the mustard and the cheese,



stirring until it's melted. You can garnish with some additional cheese and chives if you like.

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Wisconsin Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks, or 1-16 oz. bag frozen cauliflower
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 to 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 5-10 minutes (less if your cauliflower is frozen).

Using an immersion blender or regular blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth or your desired texture.

Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with cheese and dried chives to serve. Serves 4-6 as main course, 8 as starter course.