Beautiful Cauliflower Soup

This is a very simple recipe. It’s a dish that I genuinely love because it shows the humble cauliflower in all of its glory. Cauliflower is a beautiful vegetable that is frequently under- utilised; though I’m not sure why when it’s packed with so much flavour. When cauliflower is roasted in the oven, it caramelises and takes on a delicious nutty flavour as the natural sugars intensify. This creamy and indulgent soup puts a smile on people’s faces in the winter months; I like to think of this dish as a cauliflower cuddle.

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Dish Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 4

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Ingredients

1 cauliflower

500ml milk

500ml double cream

Seasoning

Rapeseed oil

Salt and pepper

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Preparation

1. Using a knife, remove the outside green leaves from the cauliflower and discard.

2. Cut 4 florets from the cauliflower and place on a baking tray, drizzle with cold rapeseed oil and season.

3. Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes until golden and caramelised.

4. Roughly slice up the rest of the cauliflower, including the stalk, and place in a saucepan. Cover with the milk and cream. It’s important the milk and cream cover all the cauliflower, enabling it to poach nicely.

5. Cover with baking paper and poach on a medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, ensuring the cream and milk do not catch on the bottom of the pan.

6. After 20 minutes check to see if the cauliflower is completely soft. Using a slotted spoon, pull out the cauliflower and place in a blender.

7. Blend adding the poaching liquid little by little, as you don’t want to add too much making it too thin. It ought to be quite a thick, sumptuous soup.

8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top Tip: We use this same method for a delicious celeriac and apple soup. Follow the same method and replace the cauliflower with half a celeriac, with the skin removed and diced, along with the flesh of two Bramley apples.