Have you ever suddenly had a craving for something you’ve never liked? Weird question, but it happened to me.

If you’ve been coming around here for a while, you know that I am not much for liquid dairy. I like yogurt with my granola and cream cheese on a bagel, but with few exceptions, I simply do not like milk, cream, half & half or anything similar.

I am here to tell you that I’ve had a breakthrough. While I was ill a couple of weeks ago, all I wanted were vegetables. Being sick though, I wasn’t exactly up for serious cooking. I basically lived on roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, and cilantro-lime vinaigrette for a week. When I finally started to feel like myself again, I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen. I hadn’t cooked since the second week of my vacation, so deciding what to make was more complicated than it normally would be. I thought about lamb ragù, chicken noodle soup, and posole, but it all sounded too heavy. For some reason unknown to me, I started thinking about some roasted cauliflower I had five years ago at a now-defunct restaurant in DUMBO. Roasted cauliflower isn’t anything revolutionary, but I remember this restaurant’s version being startlingly delicious. I couldn’t get it off my mind. And so, I set out to the grocery store.

Now, I normally would have just grabbed my cauliflower and some sausages or a chicken, but again, I had just had a cold for a week. Meat simply did not appeal. I wandered the grocery store for more than half an hour trying to figure out what to do with this cauliflower. I love roasted vegetables, but they need something else to make a meal. I went to grab some butter (because hi, I’m a baker), when I spotted some half & half, and it hit me–Roasted Cauliflower Soup. Something I have literally never wanted in my life until that moment.

I trekked home and put the soup together in just over an hour. I roasted the cauliflower. I sautéed an onion and some garlic. I simmered everything in vegetable stock, added some mustard, and blitzed it all together in the blender. I did the unthinkable and added half & half. And then, I fell head over hideous Birkenstocks for this amazing soup. I ate the whole batch in two days, and then I went and made more because it’s just that good.

And that, dear readers, is the very long story of how a creamy soup came to appear on this blog. Mark the date–it may never happen again.Roasted Cauliflower Soup
makes 4-6 servings

8 cups cauliflower florets (about 2 heads cauliflower)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, divided
1 medium white onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water, divided
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup half & half
chopped parsley, for serving
toasted baguette slices, for serving

Preheat oven to 400F. Place cauliflower florets on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper. Toss together with clean hands. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring at the 20 minute mark. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cauliflower, vegetable stock, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add mustard.

Using an immersion blender (or regular blender, in batches), purée vegetables and stock. Stir in water and let cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in half & half. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Serve soup in shallow bowls. Garnish with parsley and serve with toasted baguette slices.

Soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.