Jalapeño Popper Soup (Keto)

This is a Dave-approved soup. That’s all you need to know. I frequently get a “That’s tasty,” or a “Mmm. Good.” But when he says, “Man, oh man, that’s good soup,” I know it’s going in the rotation.

I’ve been planning to make this for a long time. I’ve had the rcecipe scribbled on a post-it sitting up near my cookbooks forever. But it was our BLIZZARD (yes, we’re having a blizzard) that made me pull the post-it from its perch and start frying bacon. This recipe is all over the internet; I just added a bit more of this or that, and a few non-negtiables, like onion and garlic. Here’s my version:

Ingredients:

• One head of cauliflower
• 5 large jalapenos
• 5 slices bacon
• 1/2 medium onion, diced fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz cream cheese
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 TBSP salsa verde (can substitute w/green chilis)
• 1 cup sharp cheese, shredded
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash and break the cauliflower into flowerets. Steam until tender.
2. While cauliflower is steaming, char the jalapeños over an open flame or grill until skin is dark and blistered. Place jalapeños in a brown paper bag for ten minutes, then slip the slip the skins off, remove stems and seeds, and dice fine. Set aside.
3. Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in soup pot until crisp. Remove from pot and set aside
4. In bacon grease, sauté diced onion until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook another minute
5. Add cauliflower, cream, chicken broth, salsa verde (or green chilis), diced jalapeños and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted
6. Add salt and pepper to taste
7. To serve, ladle soup in bowl and top with the bacon you reserved
8. Enjoy!

Since we’re doing keto, we’re not eating this with bread, but if you’re not keto, this would go great with French bread or a hard roll.