Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Here's a quick soup that I made to go with seasoned Chicken for last night's dinner. It was very tasty. In searching for something else I came across similar recipe where the soup is topped with cheese which is in turn melted quickly under a broiler, giving it a lovely topping like that found on French Onion soup.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon Paprika (Hungarian Smoked Paprika is best)
1 teaspoon Hickory Smoked Flavor (optional)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan, melt butter and/or coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.

Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.

In a blender or a food processor, blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. If you have an immersion blender, use it- it literally takes less than a minute to blend.

Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Stir in the smoked paprika and the smoked flavor. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. (Medium - high heat will cause the cheese texture to become grainy. If needed, heat very slowly.) Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.