It's worth going the extra mile for the cheese and pickle toasties here, especially for that tangy pickle hit!
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Yields:
6
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Ingredients
20 g butter, plus 30g for spreading
2 Tbsp. olive oil
700 g cauliflower, broken into florets
200 g potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
500 ml vegetable stock
500 ml whole milk
125 g extra mature Cheddar, grated
50 g Stilton, crumbled
4 slices sourdough
2 Tbsp. pickle (we used GH Pantry Partner* Branston
Handful fresh sage leaves
Directions
Step 1Heat the butter and 1tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan until the butter is foaming. Add the cauliflower, potatoes and onion and cook for 6-8min, until starting to soften. Add the stock and milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave to simmer for 20min or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and blitz with an immersion blender. Add 50g of the grated Cheddar and all the Stilton. Stir until the cheeses have melted and season to taste. Keep warm while you make the toastie croutons.
Step 2Butter both sides of the bread. Divide the remaining Cheddar between two of the slices, then add the pickle. Top with the remaining slices of bread. Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat and fry the toasties for 2-3min on each side, placing a heavy saucepan on top to weigh them down. Remove from the pan and cut into small squares.
Step 3Heat the remaining oil in the toastie pan and fry the sage leaves until crispy. Divide the soup between six bowls and top each with some toastie croutons and crispy sage leaves.
GH TIP
Make the soup without the toasties up to 3-4 days ahead, or freeze for 3 months. When you’re ready to dig in, continue from step 2.
Sarah is Good Housekeeping's Kitchen and Homes Director, looking after all things food and homes for the brand. Sarah started her career in journalism, then retrained as a chef 15 years ago following a lifelong dream to work in food. Since retraining, she has worked as a private chef, assisted on tv commercials, created recipes for some of the country's leading brands and became the go-to birthday and wedding cake baker in her friends and family network. In 2025, she was shortlisted for Cookery Writer of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers
