Cauliflower cream

Since it is winter, I thought a cauliflower soup would work rather well. It's one of the simplest soups you can make, and done in about 40 minutes with maybe ten minutes of work involved. I do the soup with the basic white one, the dark green one you'll need to add 1/2 teasp of mustard to the recipe, and I'm most curious if anyone is willing to dare one of the other colors. Hah

 

Cauliflower soup.

4-6 servings

Cauliflower: 1 mid-size, uncut

Onion: 1/2, chopped roughly

Leek: 5 inches, chopped roughly

Stock cubes: 2-3

Olive oil: 1 tablesp.

Honey: 1 teasp

Milk/cream: 1 1/2 mug

Salt: 1/2-1 teasp

Pepper/chilli peppers: 1/4 teasp. (2-4 grinds with your mill)

Basil: 15 leaves fresh, chopped. (dried, 1 small teasp)

Parsley: Same as basil.

Chives: 1/2 inch bushel, chopped

  

Wash your cauliflower. You don't need to chop it, just find a pan it fits in, and put it in. Fill with hot water until your cauliflower is submerged and then put it on a stove, high heat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and set to boil until the cauliflower gets a bit of a mushy quality. Doesn't take long, 10 to 15 mins. Drain 2/3 of the water and leave on a low fire. Add everything except the milk and leave it to bubble for another 10-15 mins. Use an immersion blender and blender the soup, adding bits of milk until it is a smooth creamy mass. Let boil two or three more minutes, et voila, your soup is ready.

Serve with sturdy brown bread and butter and maybe a nice white wine, a sprinkle of cheese on top, and enjoy.

Butternut Delight

The Butternut

Delicious and freakily healthy:

Yep, you need some of these in your diet because let’s face it, there is nothing better to get your daily dose of C, A, E, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium and fiber into your system. Added to that, it is yummy and filling. If you then realize the added advantages of the herbs…oh my.

The pumpkin soup…or, considering the Butternut squash is my absolute favorite for this dish, the Butternut soup. Hah.

I will be going for fresh herbs, which you can substitute with dried or frozen (if you don’t have the individual herbs, you can use a standard Italian herb mix, preferably without lemon grass), and some sugar which you can substitute with honey or some other sweetener of choice, if you absolutely must.

Pumpkin soup:

1 mid-sized Butternut squash…or any other pumpkin you prefer: 1 inch cubes.

1 mid-sized onion: chopped

1 mid-sized leek: chopped

1 clove garlic: minced

Basil: 1-2 pinch, chopped.

Oregano: 1 small pinch, chopped.

Parsley: 1-2 pinch, chopped.

Nutmeg: 1 small pinch or 1 knife point.

Salt: 1-3 teasp. (to taste)

Sugar: 1 teasp.

Pepper: 2-4 turns or 1-2 knife point.

Olive oil: 1-2 tablesp.
Sweet chili sauce: (optional) 1 tablesp.

Dried Broth: (preferably vegetable) 2-4 cubes or 4 tablesp.

Apricot or Peach jam: 1 tablesp.

Water: 1 cup.

Cream or milk: (optional) ½ mug-200ml.

Take a pan that you’re sure is big enough to hold all your ingredients. Put it on the stove with the olive oil. Don’t wait for it to heat, but immediately put in the minced garlic, followed closely by the chopped onion. Stir for a bit, and then add your cubed pumpkin. Leave it to bake for about ten minutes while you regularly stir and add your salt, pepper and nutmeg.

What follows are the leek and fresh herbs, which should make your kitchen smell absolutely wonderful. Keep stirring regularly, keep watch on the cubes, they should start to get mushy before you add sugar and cream. If it is all boiling turn the heat low and leave it to simmer for a bit. Add a cup of water and broth cubes. Keep it on a simmer.

Your mix should start looking like mash, which is when you add your jam. Press on the cubes with a spoon, if they easily squash, get your potato masher, or immersion blender and turn your mix into an even mash.

Add water until the soup has the thickness of your preference. I like my soup thick, served with fresh French bread, but that is personal taste.

Bon appétit!