Today in the Shuk I saw the most beautiful head of cauliflower. Very fresh, firm, with no blemishes and huge. Personally I can eat a whole cauliflower myself - raw, steamed, any way at all. But I was craving something warm and satisfying and when I saw that beautiful white head, I knew I should make a stew or a soup.
Most stews that call for cauliflower feature them in background and the protein usually overtakes the flavor. The outstanding exceptions are curries like Aloo Gobi or Gobi Masala. But today I wasn't feeling the curry vibe, so soup it became.
BT's Creamy Cauliflower, Fennel and Apple Soup
Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower - cleaned and de-bugged
3 small yellow onions
3 shallots
3 small fennel bulbs
2 apples
1 medium white potato
1 small red chili
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 finger joint of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon ghee
1/8 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pour Arak (or any anise liqueur)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
1 kaffir lime leaf
1/3 cup (75 ml) heavy cream (optional)
1 lemon - juiced
6 cups (1.5 l) water
Directions:
Remove hard core from cauliflower and place in heavy gauge cocotte
Cover with water
Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Place cocotte on medium high heat and cook cauliflower for 25 minutes or until it is very tender
Remove cauliflower and place in bowl and reserve
Pour cooking liquid into second bowl and reserve
Dice onion, shallot, garlic, fennel, ginger and chili
Add ghee and mustard seeds to cocotte used to cook cauliflower
Turn flame to medium high
Fry seeds until they begin to pop - approximately 90 seconds
Add diced vegetables and sauté until onions and shallots are translucent
Add remaining teaspoon kosher salt and nutmeg
Stir and add pour of Arak
Leave on medium high for 1 minute to burn off alcohol
Add reserved water from cauliflower
Add cauliflower
Rough chop potato and apple and add to pot
Place bay leaf, kaffir lime leaf, peppercorns and whole cloves in small bag and add to soup
Reduce flame to medium low and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until potatoes and apples are soft
Remove herb bag from soup
Purée soup with wand blender - do not over process
Add cream (if using)
Add lemon juice
Taste for salt
Serve with slice of lemon and fennel fronds
Enjoy! !בתיאבון
I made this. It was excellent!