Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower Chowder

It is so hard to pin down a soup or stew recipe (smell…sprinkle…smell…taste…repeat), but here’s what I got!

You can make this in other ways, too – like all day in the crock pot, without any pre-cooking of veggies. Use leftover rotisserie chicken if you like, or scrap cauliflower for potatoes. Mess around!

1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
24 oz. cauliflower florets, roughly torn up. I just used 2 ready bags from Trader Joes!
Olive oil for roasting the cauliflower
3 cups sliced celery
1 – 16 oz. bag baby carrots, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
3+ cups milk. Mix in some heavy cream if you like.
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sriracha sauce
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Suggested spice blend:

1/4 tsp salt to start – more as desired
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat the cauliflower florets in a few tablespoons of olive oil, and spread on a large baking sheet. Roast until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, simmer the carrots and celery in water or extra chicken stock until reasonably soft. I added 2 bay leaves to mine.

Heat the garlic and diced onion in a large skillet, then add the chicken and cook on high until done and nicely browning.

Combine the vegetables, chicken, and roasted cauliflower in a large slow cooker or stockpot. Stir in the sriracha, maple syrup, and spice blend.

Whisk together the milk and flour, then pour into the pot. Add the chicken stock and stir until well-combined, adding more liquid as needed for a desired consistency.

Taste it, and add more salt (especially) or herbs if you like. Finish the chowder by thoroughly heating on the stove, or leaving on low in the slow cooker for a few hours.

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…Oh, hey! By the way! If you’re like The Mage™ and prefer it even thicker, here’s a little trick.

Ladle out some of the existing broth, and whisk in 1/4-1/2 cup starch (corn or tapioca). Stir that back into your hot chowder, and: