“Potato” Soup

Probably the first low-carb soup I made when I began my low-carb journey 14 years ago.  Potato soup has always been my favorite creamy soup, so it was only logical it would be my first attempt at a low-carb version of one of my comfort foods.   My husband is a sandwich man at lunch, but I’ve always been a soup gal.  I create a new soup every week of my life, I do believe.  And my husband always says I never made a bad soup over the 54 years we’ve been married.  I have so many soups on my blog now, I think it is the largest category hands down.  I thought I’d feature come of my best soups this week.  This way I can share some oldies with my newer followers and remind my long-time readers of the many you keep meaning to try.  One of my favorite sayings applies here:  Too many recipes; too little time.

This “potato” soup is a low-carb version of the famous French Vichissoise, but I served mine warm like a regular American potato soup.  I’ve never been fond of any of the famous cold soups:  vichissoise, ciopinno or gazpacho.  In Texas we like our my soup hot (in more ways than one  🙂 ).  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly.  In fact, it (and the one-minute-muffin) are what got me THROUGH Induction, to be honest.

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INGREDIENTS:  

1  medium head cauliflower (about 12 oz.)

4 c. chicken broth, low-sodium or homemade

1½ c. leeks, cleaned, chopped or sliced thin

2 shallots, chopped fine

½  stick (4 T.) unsalted butter

¼ tsp. each salt & black pepper

1 T. green onion or chives, chopped (optional garnish)

½ c. heavy cream

OPTIONAL:  ¼ c. dry white wine

DIRECTIONS:   Cut cauliflower into flowerets and place in large soup pot.  Cut root off l leek and then cut the leek lengthwise in half.  Wash all “hiding” dirt from between the leaves, as it will really hide there!  You don’t want grit in your soup.  Slice thin 1½ c. of leek off and add to the soup pot.  Add broth, shallots, salt, pepper and butter.  Bring to a boil and lower heat to a slow simmer.  Cook until leeks and cauliflower are completely done.  Add heavy cream (and wine if using wine) and simmer on lowest heat for about 5 more minutes.  Using either a stick blender right in the pot (LOVE my stick blender), or doing in small batches in your processor or regular blender, puree the soup until smooth.  Chill if serving cold, as is traditional for this soup.  When ready to serve, dip into 4 bowls and garnish with a bit of chopped green onion or chives.  Serve with your favorite, program-acceptable bread and a nice salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Makes 4  servings about 1½ cups in size.  Each contains:

194 cals, 15.3g fat, 10.45g carbs, 4.10g fiber, 6.35g NET CARBS, 5.93g protein, 796 mg sodium