Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Maple Candied Bacon, Fried Sage, and Brown Butter
[This creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup is delicious enough for entertaining, but easy enough for a simple night in!]
I love soup. I love it in the winter (obviously), but to be honest I eat soup all year round!
This soup is one of my favorites to make when the weather starts to get cooler though, because it feels so dang cozy.
Don’t let the long title scare you off! It’s really not difficult to make, and all of those delish toppings really push this soup to next-level comfort food.
(Candied bacon, fried sage, and brown butter?? C’mon!)
And there’s roasted garlic involved, so you know it’s gonna be good. π
Roasted garlic is really something special. Even if you don’t think you like garlic, you probably will like roasted garlic.
It’s sweet and mellow and adds so much flavor to everything it goes into–including this cauliflower and leek soup!
If you’ve never cooked with leeks, now’s your chance!
I feel like leeks are a little underappreciated. I honestly had no idea what they were until a couple of years ago.
They are in the onion fam, but they have a milder flavor than onions. When you roast them, they are sweet and add a great depth of flavor to soups. The green tops are the part of the plant that grows above the earth, and the bulb (the part that you eat) is underground.
That’s why leeks need a good washing to make sure you get all of the sand/dirt out of the leaves.
Ok Ok Ok. Bacon.
On to the candied bacon. You could just crumble regular ol’ bacon over you soup. That would be amazing.
BUT if you add a little maple syrup or coconut sugar to your bacon as you cook it, it gives that sweet and salty thing that’s so freakin yummy.
And it’s the perfect little flavor bomb and crunch factor for this creamy cauliflower and leek soup.
Finally, we are getting very *extra* with this soup and finishing it off with some fried sage leaves and browned butter.
Because why the hell not?
Fried sage is to die for.
And since we’re frying the sage leaves in butter, you get sage flavored brown butter.
That right there is proof that life is worth living. π
Don’t be afraid of the fat in this soup
I personally, used to avoid fat because I thought it was unhealthy. But then I learned that our bodies need fat (saturated fat, even!) to make hormones and rebuild cells. Plus it keeps us satiated, so we don’t go looking for snacks later.
I just try to source really good quality fat. Kerry Gold butter is from grass-fed cows, and it’s my favorite.
And when I get bacon I look for antibiotic-free and preferably organic/humanely raised.
So don’t deny yourself those beautiful toppings!!
Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Maple Candied Bacon, Fried Sage, and Brown Butter
Ingredients
For the soup
- one head of cauliflower
- one large leek
- 1/2 small head of garlic
- 3 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 1.5 cups whole milk (or your favorite milk alternative)
- 2 tablespoons parmesean or pecorino ramano (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the candied bacon
- 4 pieces bacon
- About a tablespoon maple syrup or coconut sugar
For the fried sage leaves
- fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Cook the candied bacon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Lay the 4 pieces of bacon flat on a baking sheet (I like to place bacon on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet). Lightly coat with maple syrup or coconut sugar.
- Place into hot oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove, flip bacon, and add syrup and pepper to the other side.
- Place back into oven for another 3-5 minutes, paying close attention not to burn.
- Remove bacon and allow to cool and become crispy while you prepare the soup.
Roast the veggies for the soup
- Cut cauliflower into florets. Spread onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and dried thyme.Toss to coat.
- Wash leek well (they can have sand between the leaves) and remove the bottom. Slice leek, stopping when you reach the dark green outer leaves (you want to use the white and light green parts of the leek). Spread cut leeks onto a separate baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Cut the bottom off of a head of garlic. Drizzle the exposed bottom with olive oil and wrap in tin foil so that the bottom is facing upwards. You will only need 1/2 the head of garlic for the soup, but you can roast the entire head and reserve the rest for another dish.
- Place the cauliflower, leeks, and head of garlic into the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the leeks, keeping the cauliflower and garlic to continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes.
Make the soup
- In a medium stock pot, add broth, milk of choice, optional cheese, roasted cauliflower, leeks, and garlic (the cloves will squeeze easily out of their skins once roasted). Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat.
- Blend using an immersion blender or standard blender. (I use a Blendtec )
- Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Fry the sage leaves
- In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium high heat and add the sage leaves plucked from their stems. Periodically shake the pan to ensure leaves fry evenly.
- When butter has just begun to brown, remove from heat and transfer leaves to a paper towel to crisp up. While still warm, sprinkle with sea salt.
Serve
- Divide soup between four bowls. Finely dice the bacon, adding a portion to each bowl of soup. Garnish with fried sage leaves and a drizzle of brown butter.
Notes
I like to add Coconut Aminos instead of extra salt to season my soup and give it an extra umami boost.
This recipe is featured in the FeedFeed’s Brown Butter Feed. Check it out here!
6 responses to “Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Maple Candied Bacon, Fried Sage, and Brown Butter”
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This soup looks incredible! Your photos are totally gorgeous too. π
Trish
It is so yummy, hope you try it! π
Definitely in the mood for soup right now after seeing this post. Not only does this soup look delicious but it is so beautifully captured as well – pinned!
Thanks, Thalia! Hope to see some soup coming from Butter and Brioche as well… I’m on a soup kick and I want all the inspiration I can get!
Allyson, Glad to see you champion the merits of butter! I’m old enough to remember churning the the milk into butter that my grandparents carried in fresh from milking the cows. I will try the soup. Where do you find the time for this??
Hope you try the soup! My mom says this one I have to make for her π