Cauliflower soup, but not as you know it
Soups can be boring, but not this one. This is one of my best ever recipes, and it takes less than 30 minutes, and costs $10 for a family of 4. Sounds almost too good to be true, but trust me, you have to try this one!
This recipe also includes the most amazing home-made croutons which will go well with any soup.
Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic (leave the skin on)
1 head of cauliflower
Parmesan cheese
About 750mL of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
4 rashers of bacon
2 slices of bread (ciabatta or something similar works best but any bread will do)
1 handful of grated cheese
Olive oil
Method
Turn your oven on to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut up the cauliflower very roughly – remember, we’re making soup so it all gets blended up at the end. Put in a large saucepan and almost cover with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Place the bacon on a baking tray lined with baking paper, put the cloves of garlic on the tray, and pop in the oven.
Cut the bread into small cubes, and place in a bowl. Pour some olive oil over the bread – probably about 2 tablespoons. Add the fennel seeds, and shake around in the bowl until the oil covers all of the bread and the fennel seeds are sticking to it. Put on an oven tray, and spread out so no cubes of bread are on top of each other. Keep them close together though, and then sprinkle some grated cheese over the top evenly – you don’t need very much. Turn the oven down to 180 degrees, and add the tray of croutons.
Check the garlic – if it’s really soft and you can squish it, it’s done (and the smell is usually a give-away – it should smell amazing). Squeeze the garlic out of the skin, and place it in the saucepan with the cauliflower. Add some parmesan cheese. I really like to use the rind in soup, because the flavour is better and it saves wasting it! I slice the rind off the cheese trying to keep it thin and not really take any of the cheese. This should melt in the hot stock.
Stir the cauliflower soup with a wooden spoon.
Check on the croutons – when they are golden and the cheese is melted, they’re ready to come out. This normally takes about 10 minutes. Let them cool for a bit on the oven tray. I separate them into four individual serves while the cheese is still soft.
Check the cauliflower soup – if you can break up the cauliflower using your wooden spoon, it’s ready. Blend up into soup. I like to add some cracked pepper at this point. Tip the soup back into the saucepan, pop the lid on it, and put it to one side.
Check the bacon – it should take about 20 minutes to be crispy. Once the bacon comes out, put it on some paper towel to absorb any fat, and chop into small pieces.
Spoon the soup into bowls, sprinkle the bacon over the top. You can add the croutons into the bowl, but they are better on a side plate and added as you want to eat them, so they don’t get soggy.
Enjoy
This soup is so simple and really quick to make, but it is a stunning recipe. The photo doesn’t really do it justice. The flavour combinations of the parmesan, roast garlic, fennel seeds and bacon match the cauliflower so beautifully. You won’t be disappointed with this recipe – enjoy!
