Cauliflower soup Květáková polévka

Czech cauliflower soup (květáková polévka) is simple yet very satisfying. The Slovaks also enjoy this soup (they call it karfiolová polievka). When a single fresh vegetable is in season–or when scarcity provides only one–soup can turn it into an entire meal. Soup can serve as a light dinner on a warm night or after a larger lunch. Or it can serve as a starter to a more substantial meal. Unlike much of Europe, in America we tend to eat our largest meal at suppertime. But cauliflower soup makes a perfect evening supper in a Czech or Slovak household.

A head above the rest

Cauliflower is really an ideal vegetable for so many reasons. Denser and more compact than its cousin broccoli, cauliflower can be sliced into “steaks” or riced into a starchy-side substitute. When cooked in a soup the florets hold their shape but also yield nicely to pureeing. This recipe uses a combination of pureed and chunks of cauliflower.

Jump to Soup Recipe

The common elements in many cauliflower soup (květáková polévka) recipes are cream, onions and nutmeg for seasoning. Some recipes, like mine, also include potatoes. You can leave out the cream of course or use a lower fat milk instead. It’s really quite creamy without actual cream but I’m afraid it wouldn’t be as “authentic.”

Preparing the cauliflower soup

Start by cutting up the head of cauliflower. You don’t have to be too particular about the size of pieces because most of the vegetable is going to be pureed. We will need a few small florets however, so don’t completely dice it. You can use parts of the stem, too, just chop them so they cook completely at the same rate as the more tender florets. After chopping, reserve about a cup of florets and set aside

Next, peel and chop the onion and potato. Again you don’t need to worry too much about the size of these pieces–just make them uniform and a size that will cook up at the same rate as the cauliflower pieces (for the potato that probably means one-half to one inch cubes).

Sauté the onion in about a tablespoon of butter until it starts to turn translucent. Add another tablespoon of butter and the potato chunks; fry them for a minute or two. Add a third tablespoon of butter and sprinkle two tablespoons of flour over everything. Stir and cook the mixture for about a minute.

Pour in a quart of vegetable broth and whisk until smooth. Add the cauliflower pieces and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes.

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Remove from heat. Extract the bay leaf from the soup and season with salt and pepper. Add ½ cup of heavy cream. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.

Tip: when using an immersion blender, tilt it slighly at an angle. Click here to watch a brief demonstration video.

Serving the soup

Season with 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Place the reserved cauliflower florets in a cup of milk and cook in the microwave 3-4 minutes until tender. Pour off the warm milk into the pureed soup and stir to combine. Ladle soup into serving bowls and add a few pieces of reserved the cauliflower to each bowl. These will provide a little bit of chunkiness to the soup. Garnish with some sliced scallions and a pinch of nutmeg.