Cauliflower White Bean Soup

Cauliflower may be my favorite vegetable.  “You say that about all your vegetables,” cauliflower said to me once, bashfully.  “No, baby,” I reassured it.  “It’s you.  You’re number one.”  Sometimes things get weird in my Milford Kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks 
1 pound cauliflower, chopped into large bite-sized florets and stems 
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained
½ yellow onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
6 cups vegetable stock 
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp dry white wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Coarse kosher salt and black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice (about 1/4 lemon)
8 ounces sour cream (1 cup), at room temperature 
½ cup chopped chives (about 1 small bunch)
Sour cream & onion potato chips, for topping
Shredded Cheddar, for serving

DIRECTIONS

For the Instant Pot:

• Sauté the onions and garlic in the butter and then deglazed with the wine.

• Add cauliflower, potatoes, beans and broth.

• Pressure cooked on high for 18 minutes and do a quick release.

• Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, right away, and stir.

• Puree (in batches) in a blender and add it all back to the pot.

• Add lemon juice, sour cream, and chives.  Stir to combine until the sour cream is dissolved.

• Serve with chips & cheddar.

For the Slow Cooker:

• In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the potatoes, cauliflower, beans, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, butter, wine, thyme, garlic powder and 1½ teaspoons kosher salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 8 hours on low. 

• Remove and discard the thyme sprig, and turn off the slow cooker. Add the lemon juice. To make a completely smooth and creamy soup, purée the ingredients using an immersion blender. (Or, purée the soup in a blender in two batches, transferring the puréed soup to a different pot.) To make a textured, chunky soup, smash the ingredients using a potato masher in the slow cooker. Stir in the sour cream and chives. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve in bowls topped with black pepper, crushed potato chips and shredded Cheddar.