Cauliflower and Almond Soup

Thurs 24 Jan 2008

Winter is a good time for soups but this year I've been a bit slow off the mark. Still, what is better to have at home, ready to heat up and eat, when you come in from the pub, than a big pot of soup? AND it's healthier than the usual post-pub grub: pizza, kebab, curry ...

I spotted the recipe for cauliflower and almond soup in the Complete Traditional Recipe Book. Previously, I've made a carrot and almond soup which turned out to be a very tasty number, so I was confident that this soup would be a success.

As with many soups it's easy-peasy.

Melt some butter in your favourite soup-making pot. Coarsely chop an onion and sweat down, before adding a medium size head of cauliflower, also coarsely chopped. Mix through 100g of ground almonds and a 1/4 tsp of turmeric and garam masala to taste. Add vegetable stock and simmer until the cauliflower is tender.

When the cauliflower is tender, whizzy up to a good thick puree. I served with a generous dash of chilli oil. My chilli oil is based on sesame oil and the fragrant oil worked really well with the cauliflower. Thanks to the almonds the soup is very rich and creamy without the addition of cream. And the cauliflower means it is thick, with plenty of body, without the use of potatoes.

The original recipe actually used turmeric and nutmeg, but I couldn't find the nutmeg so, taking inspiration from aloo gobi, I opted to use garam masala as an unlikely substitute.

No matter how much I might have liked this simple but filling soup, I had forgotten that Andy doesn't particularly like cauliflower so it didn't receive a rapturous reception. Still, can't please all the people all the time!

tagged with: soup, cauliflower

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