Creamy no Cream Cauliflower Soup
I love vegetables, but cauliflower is not one of my favorites. I guess simply because I didn’t find the right recipes yet. They all seem kind of boring to me. Not this one. I found it in Dorie Greenspan’s new book: “Around my French Table” and I thought I have to try it. I was not disappointed. Onions and Celery are slowly roasted before you add the cauliflower. This brings out all the sugar in the veggies. Then you have to cook it for another 20 minutes with the cauliflower. There is no need to add any creme whatsoever and the result is a smooth and silky soup, full of delightful flavors.
Put the olive oil and butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and warm over low heat. When the butter is melted, add the onions, garlic, celery, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of white pepper. Stir until all the ingredients glisten with oil and butter, then cover the pot and cook slowly, stirring often, for 20 minutes. Toss the cauliflower into the pot and pour in the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the broth simmers gently, and cook, uncovered, for another 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very soft.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor; or use an immersion blender. This soup is best when it is very smooth, so if you think it needs it, push it through a strainer. (If you used a standard blender, this shouldn’t be necessary.) Taste for salt and pepper; I like to pepper the soup generously.
You are less than ten minutes away from a decadent dessert. Yes, it’s a bit of a cheat recipe but so what? Although I’m a cook-from-scratch kind of a girl, looking after a baby and toddler has taken a toll on my energy and enthusiasm over the past few months. What is “sleep”? What exactly is “free time”? Can you spell it for me? Bah, who needs it anyway. There is only so much chocolate a girl can eat before getting sick of it and start looking further afield. No, I don’t want to bake and dirty a dozen dishes and utensils. No, I don’t want to spend hours cooking up some strange Heston Blumenthal concoction.