Although it says “creamy”, there is no dairy in this soup. The creamy texture comes from roasting the cauliflower and adding a potato to the soup. Roasting the cauliflower brings out its sweetness and mitigates the funk that wet cooked cruciferous vegetables can show. This easy to make soup is wonderful in that you can flavor it so many ways; curry powder, saffron and smoked paprika, thyme and marjoram, cumin and oregano.
INGREDIENTS:
2-4 cloves garlic
1 brown onion, peeled and diced fine
1 large yellow fleshed potato such as Romanze, Bintje, Yukon Gold, or Yellow Finn, peeled and diced ¼ inch
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresh minced thyme
1 tablespoon Pimenton de la Vera Dulce (Sweet smoked Paprika)
1 largish pinch saffron threads (around a ¼ teaspoon), toasted in a dry pan until dry and easily crumbled. Be careful not to scorch it!
1 cup white wine
6-8 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, or water, at room temperature or warmed up
Oil as needed (a neutral flavored oil is good as you do not want to overwhelm the flavors, or use a light flavored olive oil)
-Optional Garnish-
3-4 shallots, sliced into 1/8th inch thin rings
METHOD:
Heat oven to 425°F.
Toss cauliflower chunks into a bowl and lightly coat with oil.
Season with salt and pepper, and then spread onto a foiled baking sheet-use two pans if necessary. The cauliflower should have some space between the chunks so it roasts, not steams.
Roast 20 minutes or until tender and parts of the cauliflower are caramelized. Turn the chunks if necessary to cook evenly and caramelize more surface area. When done, remove from the oven and keep warm.
Place the unpeeled garlic cloves into a piece of foil and roast while the cauliflower cooks. Check after 15 minutes to be sure it is not burning. When it is tender, remove from the oven.
While the cauliflower is roasting, heat a pot large enough to accommodate all the vegetables and stock over medium-high heat.
When the pan is hot, add enough oil to well film the pan bottom.
When oil is almost smoking, add the onions and stir to coat.
Reduce heat to medium.
Sauté the onions to soften and color a little.
While the onions sauté, peel the garlic and mince.
When the onions are starting to color, add the potatoes and stir to coat with oil, adding oil if needed to keep the potatoes from sticking.
Cook just enough to start them coloring.
Add the garlic and stir into the vegetables.
Use your fingers to spread the saffron and Pimenton over the vegetables.
Add the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix in the herbs and spices.
When fragrant, add the wine and cook until almost entirely reduced.
Add the cauliflower and stir to mix.
Add 6 cups of the stock or water, and gently bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are very tender, but not falling apart, around 20 minutes.
Use a wand mixer to puree the soup, or very carefully puree in a blender. (Fill the blender only 2/3rds full and cover the top with a towel and start on low speed. BE CAREFUL! The soup expands and can blow out under the lid spraying hot soup on you.)
Taste the soup for thickness. If it seems too thick add some more stock to achieve the right consistency. If it is too thin, cook gently to reduce the liquid and thicken the soup. Taste for balance. If the soup seems flat or too “cauliflower-y”, try adding a little white wine or sherry vinegar. Salt might also be what is needed to lift flavors.
While soup is simmering, make the garnish. Add an inch of oil to a very small pan and hot-not smoking, but so you can see the surface shimmering. Make sure the shallots are in rings rather than slices.
Carefully drop the rings in to the hot oil and cook until they stop sizzling and bubbling.
Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the rings to paper toweling.
Allow to drain and cool a little. Sprinkle with a little salt. The rings will crisp up as they dry and cool. Save the frying oil for cooking with as it is now flavored with shallots.* When the rings are crispy, they are ready to use as garnish for the soup.
To serve: ensure the soup is hot and ladle into bowls. If you have a nice Extra Virgin olive oil such as an Arbequina, drizzle a little bit onto the surface. Dust with a tiny pinch of Pimenton de la Vera, and then garnish with the fried shallots.
Chef’s Notes and Tips:
You can go so many directions flavor-wise with this soup. If you wish to use curry powder, I would add some minced ginger to the onions, and use raw garlic which I’d add with the onions. For a Middle-East or South-West US flair, I might add some cilantro and season with cumin, coriander seed, and oregano. A little cinnamon in either of the previous iterations would work well. For a more Mediterranean approach, try using thyme and marjoram for herbs, and garnish with toasted pinenuts or chopped almonds.
*The oil would go well with the Cilantro-Chili Sauté Juice in a stir-fry. See recipe.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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