Cauliflower soup

My version of cauliflower soup. It adapts well to other vegetables, e.g. broccoli or fennel, or even celery. This is a very thick, very flavourful soup. And easy to make...

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower (1 - 1.2 kg) roughly chopped (stem, green leaves, and all, if they're on)
• 100g butter
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 4 tbsp. brandy (or ouzo)
• 1.5 litres chicken stock (just use clear instant soup...)
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• black pepper
• Yoghurt, to serve (1 tbsp. per serving)

Method:

Saute the chopped cauliflower in the butter until nicely browned, soft, and crumbling at the floret tips. (You can do this in the pot you'll be cooking in later, and don't worry about size: if all the cauliflower fits now, it will reduce enough to accomodate the extra liquid later.) It should take around 15 minutes. In the process, add the nutmeg and a very generous grinding of pepper.

Add the wine, and simmer gently until it all absorbs and evaporates. That's another 15 minutes or so.

Transfer to the food processor, add a cup of water, and process until no lumps remain. Pour the stock in the pot (or just make the soup there, if you're using instant soup -- which you should!), return the ground cauliflower, and bring to a simmer.

Simmer another 15-20 minutes, until the soup achieves a soft and uniform consistency. You can add water now to thin the soup, but the heavy creaminess is part of the appeal. Stir in the brandy.

Serve with yoghurt. Just before serving, stir in a heaped tbsp. for each bowl.

(Gobhi Soup)

Cauliflower are not usually associated with soup. As such, this dish may surprise you. But it tastes good, looks good, & does you no harm!

Ingredients:

• 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1-1/2 (1.5) tsp. salt
• 600 ml. or 1 pint ye olde H2O (water)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 50 grammes / 2oz. butter
• 1 tsp. chopped coriander leaves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Now heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onions until golden. Slowly pour the strained liquid and the mashed vegetables into the pan, together with the tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Cook for a further 10 minutes over a moderate heat.

Cut the butter[ into four cubes, and add one, with [coriander and a pinch of pepper to each of the four servings (oh, yeah, I forgot to say it does four), server piping hot.

Obviously, if you don't cook it hot enough, then you'll need more time

I had a head of cauliflower sitting in my fridge, and nothing to use it in. I decided to experiment a bit, and came up with this:

Cauliflower soup

• A head of cauliflower
• A medium onion
• About 3-4 stalks of celery
• Some olive oil
• Some chicken stock, or better yet ham^† (or vegetable if you want it to be vegetarian)
• Ground nutmeg
• a little bit of paprika (I added this just because I like paprika)
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper (any will do, but white is best)
• Parsley for garnish, Optional

Chop the cauliflower, onion, and celery into fine dice. Coat the bottom of a pot with some of the oil, and put it on medium-high. Add the veges, and add some more oil. Stir until they are all coated with oil, and brown them a little. Add the spices now, and enough stock to cover. Simmer until the vegetables are soft. Then remove about half the soup, place in a blender, and puree. Return it to the pot. Alternatively, you can use a hand blender if you have one. If it seems too thick, add more stock. Too thin, thicken with some flour

That's what I did. It probably would've been better with some potatoes or some cream added, but I had limited ingredients.