Cauliflower and parmesan soup

Soup fit for a king (and his mistress)

Cauliflower is inextricably linked with the Comtesse du Barry, a favourite mistress of King Louis XV of France.

During the French Revolution she fled to London, only to die on the guillotine on this day in 1793 on her return to Paris. But her name lives on at the table — perhaps in memory of her porcelain skin — in the form of several dishes involving the pale, elegant cauliflower.

Escoffier's dish, Crème du Barry, is merely pureéd cauliflower mixed with pureéd potato and served with butter, but it is deliciously silky and svelte. As a pureéd vegetable or sauce, it would suit pan-fried fish, roast chicken or pork. But it is as a soup that cauliflower comes into its own.

Interestingly, cauliflower is known as the “faux-potato” in several low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets. It is it much lower in carbohydrates and calories than spuds but has a creamy, potato-like texture when mashed.

This parmesan-flavoured cauliflower soup is a wonderful dish to have to hand during the busy Christmas season when guests are popping in. If you prefer it with more of a kick, use blue cheese instead of parmesan, or stir in a good pinch of garam masala.

To dress it up for pre-Christmas entertaining, strew the top with a few matchsticks of smoked salmon, or with crisped slices of pancetta and toasted almonds.

Or, if you want to be very Comtesse du Barry about it, slip in a couple of seared sea scallops at the last minute, then serve it with a dollop of crème fraîche and a spoonful of caviar.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cauliflower, around 1kg

300g all-purpose potatoes

1.2 litres water or vegetable stock

2 leeks, trimmed

1 tbsp butter

Sea salt and pepper

40g grated parmesan

Grated nutmeg

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp finely snipped chives

Method

1. Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Peel and dice the potato. Bring the water or stock to the boil, salt it well and cook the potato and cauliflower for 15 minutes.
2. Trim the leeks and finely slice them. Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently cook the leeks until softened. Tip the leeks into the cauliflower and potato mixture and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Use a potato masher to crush the vegetables in the pan, or purée half the soup in a blender and return to the pan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the parmesan and nutmeg, stirring gently. Taste for salt and pepper, scatter with parsley and chives, and serve.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/recipes/article400469.ece

Back to Recipes