Creamy cauliflower bisque has been in the recipe queue for a long time, but a recent dinner boosted it to the top. Executive chef Ali Monge of the Dining Room at Little Palm Island presented a wonderful dish that proved how good it can be. So good, it inspired me to create my own.
Soup, Bisque or Burgoo?
Soup is easily identified by its broth and texture, but the line begins to blur as it becomes “hearty”. Bisques fall between soups and stews like my burgoo that will hold a spoon standing straight up.
A silky smooth bisque requires the use of a thickener. Traditional old style bisques use rice, modern bisques use roux, potatoes or creams. I chose potatoes to add the starch necessary for a nice bisque. Choice of potato is important and white potatoes best preserve a pure white color in the finished dish. Locally however they have been replaced completely by russets, golden or rose potatoes.
Russets are tasty and white, but they leave an ever so slight grainy texture in finished bisque regardless how long I blitzed them. Rose gold potatoes taste delicious and creamy, but will give the bisque a light golden tint. So, pick your poison, but get ready for a delicious bisque!
Making Cauliflower Bisque
Begin with a large head of cauliflower, trim away the green leaves and cut it up into large florets. Peel and cut the potatoes into similar size chunks.
Melt the butter in a large pot with the olive oil, add the chopped onion and saute, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until they soften and begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Do not allow them to turn color.
Pour in the vegetable broth and milk. Add the potatoes and cauliflower to the pot and raise the heat to bring it to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat and low simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Use an immersion blender on high speed to puree the bisque until smooth and silky. Add the salt, pepper and heavy cream. Blend again to integrate the seasoning. Taste and adjust if necessary. Keep it warm while making the shallot garnish.
Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with a haystack of fried shallots. You may alternately garnish with shaved black truffle, croutons, brown butter drizzle or crumbled bacon. Print
Creamy Cauliflower Bisque
Silky, creamy cauliflower bisque with fried shallot garnish
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2.5 quarts 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large head fresh cauliflower – trimmed and cut into chunks
- 1–3/4 pounds white potatoes – peeled cut into chunks
- 1 TBL unsalted butter
- 1/2 TBL olive oil
- 2 medium white onions – roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- 24 oz whole milk
- 24 oz vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 TBL salt
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- Fried Shallots – garnish
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and trim the leaves off the cauliflower. Cut everything into 1′-2″ chunks
- Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pot. Saute the onions in the pot for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften and sweat. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute, but don’t let anything brown.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and milk. Add the cauliflower and potatoes and turn up the heat to bring it to a vigorous boil. Turn the heat down to maintain a low simmer for 20 minutes and the vegetables a re soft.
- Use an immersion blender on high speed to puree the bisque until smooth and silky. Add the salt, pepper and heavy cream. Blend again briefly to integrate the seasoning. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Keep warm while preparing the fried shallots or allow it to cool, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a haystack of fried shallots