An Ode to Truffle Oil

All of you know by now how much I love soups during autumntime, so I won't wax poetic about that again here!! This is another one of my absolute favorites: Yukon Gold Potato and Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil, by my favorite chef-lady in the whole world, Andrea Immer (you can find this in her Everyday Dining with Wine). I absolutely adore pureed cauliflower--I don't follow the low-carb diet craze, but it IS a great substitution for mashed potatoes--and here it is blended with shallots and creamy yukon gold potatoes for a rich yet surprisingly healthy treat. Andrea recommends that you drizzle the soup with white truffle oil (not the kind you get from Giant, but rather the legitimate truffle oil you can basically only get via Italian producers), but the soup is still delicious without it. After having it with the truffle oil...well...I would never make this without having that oil in stock!!

Beverage note: Andrea recommends drinking this with stainless-steel fermented or barrel-fermented white burgundies. I went the trashy route and had a rum-spiked cocktail with it (hey, it's Friday!).


1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped (I used 3--I really like the flavor of the shallots)
1 head cauliflower, cored and broken into florets (big florets are fine)
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (regular white potatoes are fine too)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper (black pepper is fine, it'll just leave specks in the soup)
2 tbsp white truffle oil, for drizzling

1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil on medium and add the shallot(s). Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the cauliflower and potatoes to the pot. Cover with cold water. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a simmer, uncovered, until the cauliflower and potatoes are tender, 15-17 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and drain (I drained the water into a fine-mesh sieve, so I wouldn't lose any good bits), reserving some of the hot cooking liquid. Use an immersion blender to blend the cauliflower-potato mixture, with the butter, salt, and pepper, and about 1/2 cup of the hot cooking liquid, until smooth (if you don't have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a regular blender). Add additional liquid as needed to reach the desired soup consistency. To serve, ladle into warm bowls and drizzle each portion with a teaspoon of truffle oil or more to taste.