Cauliflower soup

[tommy]

i didn't find any threads on cauliflower soup.

thoughts? the usual suspects (onion, butter, stock), but should i roast the cauliflower? if anyone says "only if you want roasted cauliflower soup" i'll berate you behind your back.

any interesting twists on this soup? i've had a cauliflower soup at Union Pacific in NYC twice in the past few weeks, and i'm now inspired. it's quite good there.

[guajolote]

I made the cauliflower soup of Eric Ripert's book last weekend. It wasn't very good . He added dill which I thought overwhelmed everything. Roasted cauliflower sounds very good to me. Add lots of cream.

[johnjohn]

The few times that I have had cauliflower soup - it has been a clean white color (not even a speck of black pepper). I would think roasting the cauliflower would make the soup a dark grey or brown color that may look a little funky, but it probably would taste good.

I remember a curied cauliflower and apple soup recipe from Boulud that was in NY magazine a few years back. I never made it, but it sounds pretty awesome.

johnjohn

[tommy]

johnjohn brings up a valid point. i won't get into the whole "how does presentation affect taste" discussion, as i don't have that kind of time, but it's very applicable here. perhaps a bit of roasted cauliflower puree, or just bits, in the middle when serving might add a nice roasted flavor, but at the same time leave the pure white presentation in tact. smart people you are.

[Suzanne F]

Tommy, you're a pretty smart fella yourself, after all. (I'd go with tiny roasted florets -- more texture contrast).

[SobaAddict70]

tommy --

try searing some scallops or mussels in unsalted butter. season to taste with sea salt or kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

make the soup by roasting the cauliflower, and then the usual suspects.

try adding a touch of garam masala or curry powder to the mix, in the step between sauteeing the onion and adding the cauliflower and stock.

as Suzanne suggests, consider using a few florets for garnish. Or chives. Or chopped parsley. Or a few drops of rosemary oil.

when you plate the soup, try plating the scallops in the center and pouring the soup over. Or pouring the soup first, then garnishing with the scallops.

Cheers,

Soba

[awbrig]

Ive had Cauliflower soup (puree actually) once. It was amazing seeing that at the bottom of the puree was a surprise...Ossetra Caviar...

[Jonathan Day]

I remember reading, about a year ago, one of the Ruhlman/Keller columns in the Los Angeles Times (it was then available online without paying, though I think this has changed) -- about soup-making. I don't remember whether there was a specific cauliflower soup recipe or just generic advice, but it led to the following cauliflower soup:

- Don't try this unless you have an almost perfect cauliflower: white, firm, unblemished.

- Finely chop some shallots and sweat them in a bit of butter

- Prepare the cauliflower(s) by stripping away everything but the outermost florets -- the core and all the stuff between the florets get removed

- Break the florets down into very small pieces

- Add them to the shallots, then add enough milk to barely cover the florets. I used skim milk the first time out, but you could use a richer milk if you prefer (I didn't find it necessary)

- Then gently simmer this (scarcely bubbling) for a long time -- at least 60 minutes and maybe a lot longer -- until the florets are perfectly tender.

- Then purée in a blender (I used a Bamix stick blender) until it is perfectly smooth -- run the blender a long time -- and strain at least once through a chinois; or strain through a chinois and then through a finer sieve

The result at this point was good but it needed salt. And it needed a bit of acid, so I added ordinary yoghurt to taste. And finally, some Dijon mustard, again to taste ... perhaps a couple of teaspoons for a large cauliflower. The yoghurt and mustard were my additions. They work. Thin it with a few drops of milk if necessary. Correct salt. Etc.

We often have this just plain, but it can also be garnished with caviar, or, at Christmas last year, with white truffles. But it's very good on its own: creamy and flavourful. We often serve it in espresso cups, at the start of a meal.

(Edit: the mustard idea came from one of Julie Sahni's dishes where you add mustard seeds to cauliflower. It make a big difference, even though you shouldn't add more than a small quantity).

Edited April 6, 2003 by Jonathan Day (log)

[jackal10]

This is known as Potage Dubarry in classical cuisine.

Escoffier's recipe [my additions in square brackets]:

Parboil 1lb of califlower divided into bunches

Drain them and put them in a saucepan with 1pt boiled milk and 2 medium size potatoes for the thickening. Set to cook gently, and [when soft] rub though a tammy [puree and sieve]. Finish with boiled milk, despumate [skim] [season] and add butter.

Garnish with bread dice fried in butter

The soup may also be prepared as a veloute [cooked with stock, finished with a liason of egg yolks and cream. Proportions for 2pts soup are 1 pt stock, 1/2pt vegetable puree, 3 eggs and 1/4pt cream, 2oz butter], or as a cream [1lb puree; 1 1/4 pts bechamel, thin with chicken stock to consistency desired, finish with cream]

Personally I like Escoffier's original for its simplicity.

Roasted cauliflower soup, IMHO, is something different, in both taste, texture and colour. Browning the cauliflower by roasting or frying first means that the caramelised caullifower taste is more dominant, the cauliflower has less water in it and is tougher to puree. It is better suited for "brown" soups - beef rather than chicken stock, brown roux or espagnole rather than bechamel. An onion based recipe works well, starting with roast cauliflower, and using beef stock to dilute to puree rather than milk.

1 lb onions peeled and chopped

1/4 lb butter

1 lb cauliflower florets

Sweat the onions in the butter without colouring.

Put the cauliflower on top. Add 1 large glass sherry [and some soy]. Cover with greasproof paper and a lid.

Sweat slowly for an hour.

Puree. Dilute with water or beef stock to consistency. Season generously

Swirl with cream. Croutons, chopped chives.

Edited April 6, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[torakris]

I made cauliflower soup for lunch today, combining a couple ideas pulled from the thread.

I made roasted cauliflower last night and saved a portion for the soup.

I but this roasted cauliflower into a saucepan with some milk and a little stock, simmered it for about 15 minutes until it was very soft. I then pureed it with an immersion blender, too lazy to use the real blender.

I could ahve strained it put I didn't, was going to chop it with some chives but forgot.

Seasoned with salt and pepper and ate it, quite good in fact!

[newguy]

i had a macintosh apple and curried cauliflower veloute once. It was fantastic, although I'm not sure if it was roasted or not. Soup was white, so I'd be willing to bet it wasn't roasted.

[AdamLawrence]

I've only ever eaten it in restaurants, rather than cooking it myself, but cauliflower and stilton soup is fabulous. Stilton and celery soup is pretty good too.

Adam

[Aquitaine]

SobaAddict -- love your suggestion about the scallops. Will have to try. And AdamLawrence, have you seen a recipe for the stilton and cauliflower soup that you could refer me to?

Check out these cauliflower soup -- and one lovely cauliflower non-soup -- recipes. (Anne Bianchi's introduction is not to be missed?)

Cauliflower Soup with Cremini Mushrooms and Walnut Oil

[Amanda Hesser, The New York Times, January 17, 2001]

Curried Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup

from Eric and Bruce Bromberg, Blue Ribbon Restaurant, NYC

[from Food & Wine, November, 2000].

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Schneider, Elizabeth. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference. New York: William Morrow & Company, 2001.

(a streamlined version of the classic)

Pan-Fried Romanesco Cauliflower with Wild Herbs and Anchovies

Bianchi, Anne. Solo Verdura: The complete guide to cooking Tuscan vegetables. Hopewell, NJ: The Ecco Press, 1997.

Edited April 19, 2003 by Aquitaine (log)

[suzilightning]

tommy -

husband loves cream of cauliflower soup with saffron

simmer 2 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth. take off the heat and add 1/4 tsp crumbled saffron threads

saute 2 cups of chopped onions in a mixture of butter and olive oil till tender but not brown.

add 1 1/2 pounds of cauliflower cut into 1/2-3/4" pieces and stir. brown lightly. add the broth, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cover, simmering till the cauliflower is tender.

cool. puree half the mixture in blender then add back to pan. bring to a simmer. season to taste with salt and pepper

hmmmmmmm..... kinda cool still. perhaps i'll visit apple tree and experiment with some oven roasted cauliflower soup

[Aurora]

I make a cauliflower soup that also includes a carrot for sweetness and golden color. I will try roasting a quarter of the cauliflower and adding that to the puree. I garnish with cheese. I have never used stilton, but that sounds good. I use white peper. Black pepper specks in lightly colored dishes is something that Jacques Pepin frowns upon That seemed reasonable to me, as I would never knowingly disappoint Jacques Pepin.