Roasted Cauliflower and Pancetta Soup

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Description

Roasted cauliflower and pancetta soup with Cheddar cheese is a rich and creamy soup perfect for cold evenings.

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/4 cup butter (such as Kerrygold®), melted
salt and ground black pepper to taste
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces diced pancetta
1 sweet onion, diced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
28 fluid ounces chicken stock
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2 Arrange cauliflower tightly into a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Pour melted butter over cauliflower and lightly season with salt and pepper. Place garlic cloves into the cauliflower.
3 Roast in the preheated oven until cauliflower is tender and browned, about 30 minutes.
4 Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir pancetta in the hot oil until browned and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pancetta to paper towel-lined bowl, reserving pancetta drippings in the skillet.
5 Cook and stir onion in the pancetta drippings until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix thyme, rosemary, and turmeric into onion.
6 Pour chicken stock over onion mixture and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower and garlic to chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium and simmer soup until cauliflower is very soft, about 15 minutes. Stir pancetta into soup.
7 Blend soup using an immersion blender until completely smooth. Stir Cheddar cheese, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, into soup until melted.