Spicy roasted cauliflower and aromatic wild mushrooms are blended with stock and heavy cream to create a delicious and fragrant soup. But it doesn’t stop here! The real fun part is curating a selection of various toppings to improve both taste and texture. For instance, dress up your Wild Mushrooms and Cauliflower Cream Soup with crunchy croutons, salty Gruyere, crispy bacon and aromatic parsley!
The Flavour Affair:
Cauliflower + Garam Masala + Wild Mushrooms + Garlic + Thyme
Toppings: Bacon + Gruyere + Parsley + Garlic
This combination creates a lot of layers. You can go all in for the maximum experience or customize the recipe to your taste by playing with the toppings.
Cauliflower: I spiced up fresh cauliflower with garam masala and roasted it in the oven. Garam Masala is an Indian blend that features a lot of warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice along with fresh peppercorns and bay leaf. It goes amazingly well with both wild mushrooms and cauliflower and adds a nice complexity to the soup. In fact, it pairs so greatly with cauliflower that I made a separate recipe for it!
Wild Mushrooms: I use dried mushrooms which need to be soaked before cooking. Dried mushrooms have a more concentrated flavour and as little as 30g goes a long way. After soaking, they are cooked on a pan in butter with garlic and thyme.
Garlic: adds a deep, warm, slightly sweet and subtly pungent notes.
Thyme: enhances the flavour profile with savory, earthy, herbaceous undertones. Use a few sprigs of fresh thyme or a teaspoon of dry leaves.
Even if you stop here and blend the cauliflower and mushrooms with a little stock and cream and season with salt and pepper, you will have yourself an amazing bowl of goodness. Or, you can make the most out of it by adding a mix of crunchy, salty and fragrant toppings. For example:
Bacon: adds saltiness and a crunch, the fat can be reserved for frying the mushrooms;
Grated Gruyere: rich, creamy and earthy, it’s a wonderful companion to wild mushrooms;
Fresh parsley: clean and peppery, its natural aromas instantly enhance the dish with a burst of freshness;
Garlic croutons: add a different texture and more prominent garlicky notes.
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Preparation Tips for Wild Mushrooms and Cauliflower Cream Soup
- Soak the mushrooms in lukewarm water for about 30 minutes. Take out with a blotted spoon and wash thoroughly under running water to get rid of all the dirt. Strain the soaking water and reserve. Add some of it to the soup to enhance its flavours and refrigerate or freeze the rest. You can then use it for stews or sauces – like, for instance, in this fabulous Seared Scallops with Mashed Potatoes and Wild Mushroom Sauce recipe.
- For the best results, fry the mushrooms in bacon fat (or butter if you are not using bacon) together with thyme and garlic for 15-20 minutes. The flavours will blend together, creating a wonderfully fragrant base for your soup.
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- Make your Garam Masala yourself! It is an easy, fun and rewarding project. Otherwise you can find this blend in all major supermarkets.
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Looking for more recipes featuring wild mushrooms? Check some – or all! – of these:
Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Wild Mushroom and Cauliflower Soup
Butternut Squash and Porcini Pappardelle
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Wild Mushrooms and Cauliflower Cream Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pot
- Roasting tray
- Soup pot
- Hand blender
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower head
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 30 g dried wild mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves
- A few sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml cooking cream
- A couple of strips of bacon
- Grated gruyere
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Season the cauliflower florets with garam masala, toss with a little olive oil and roast at 190C for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
- Soak the mushrooms for at least 30 minutes. Wash each piece thoroughly and strain the water through a fine mesh to get rid of the dirt.
- Fry bacon over medium heat until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel and reserve the fat.
- Saute the mushrooms in bacon fat together with garlic, shallots thyme and salt for 3-5 minutes. Lower the heat, add 1/2 cups soaking water and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Transfer the mushrooms together with all aromatics to the soup pot. Add the cauliflower, chicken stock and 100ml cooking cream and blend until smooth.
- Serve warm topped with grated gruyere, crumbled bacon, chopped parsley and garlic croutons.
Notes
- You can simplify this recipe by skipping garam masala and bacon.
- Instead of croutons, try serving it with warm garlic bread.
