Cauliflower Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

knob of butter (or glug of olive oil)
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tbsp each of sage and thyme, finely chopped. Extra to serve
1 small cauliflower, coarsely chopped
2 large potatoes, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
2 cups each milk and stock (chicken/veg)
200gm creme fraiche (optional)
finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon

Summary

Cauliflower can be divisive, but they’re great in curries, or lathered with cheese sauce, or simply roasted with olive oil and salt until they are nutty and crisp and utterly addictive.  Done all that?  This simple soup is also a winner – found in an old edition of Gourmet Traveller magazine.  After making this for a household of floret-weary eaters, cauliflower appreciation was restored!  It has a mild creamy flavour with sage and thyme, and is really good with those grilled cheese toasties.  And if you’ve ever grown your own, you’ll appreciate that they can often be a little grubby on top – this blended soup is a delicious way to use any less attractive ones.  Stems and all.

 

Cauliflower Soup

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add onion, garlic and herbs.  Stir occasionally until lightly golden, about 4-5 minutes.

Add chopped cauliflower and potato along with milk, stock and 2 cups of water. Season and bring to the boil, then simmer (stirring occasionally) for around 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are tender.

Add creme fraiche, lemon rind and juice, and blend with a hand held blender or in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, extra herbs and perhaps those grilled cheeses on the side!