Creamy Cauliflower Shrimp Chowder

Cold nights call for soup! Step 6 in the directions will make this soup super smooth by pureeing the cauliflower first in a high speed blender instead of doing it with an immersion blender later. You could always puree the cauliflower later with everything else and skip this step, but you will get a smoother consistency with the high speed blender.

Creamy Cauliflower Shrimp Chowder

Serves: 5-6

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1½ pound bacon (I used peppered bacon for extra flavor), cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt (may use more depending on salt in the bacon and broth)
• 6 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• for garnish: olive oil and fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Steam cauliflower then set aside.
2. Place a dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove then set aside on a paper towel. Remove excess bacon fat from dutch oven leaving behind 2-3 tablespoons.
3. Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with salt. Add shrimp to the dutch oven and cook on both sides, about 2-3 minutes until shrimp is pink. Remove and set aside.
4. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves to the pot and use a wood spatula to scrape the bacon of the pan and toss the veggies. Once onion becomes translucent, add garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried oregano and thyme and salt. Stir for about 1 minute in the veggies.
5. Add chicken broth and bay leaves to the pot.
6. Add cauliflower to a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Scoop out cauliflower puree into the dutch oven along with ½ the bacon. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Remove bay leaves and add fresh parsley then use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth and combine. Lastly, add the shrimp back to the back to the pot to heat through.
8. Top each bowl of soup with fresh parsley, bacon and a swirl of olive oil.

Recipe by: Juli at Paleomg.com