Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Cauliflower Soup

The other night we were watching America's Test Kitchen and they made this amazing cauliflower soup with pretty much just cauliflower.  It looked amazing.  And it is.  


ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 7 pieces)
1 leek, white and light green parts, halved and sliced thinly
1 small onion, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
4 12 cups water
12 teaspoon sherry vinegar 
chives

Clean the cauliflower, pull off the leaves and cut out the core.  Trim and slice thinly.  Cut 1 12 cups florets and reserve for later.  Trim the rest of the cauliflower into 1/2 length cross cuts and divide this portion in half.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a 5 quart pan.  Over medium low heat, sauté the onion and leek with 1 12 teaspoons of salt until softened, but not yet browned.  About 7-10 minutes.

Add 4 12 cups of water and increase heat to high.  Add half of the cauliflower and the core, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer gently for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, add the rest of the sliced cauliflower and cook an additional 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering for the final 15 minutes, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan and add the florets.  Sauté over medium heat until the florets and the butter are both browned, about 15 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the florets to a small bowl and toss with vinegar and coarse sea salt, set aside.  Pour browned butter into a small bowl.

Ladle soup into blender and pulse until smooth.  Wipe out your soup pot and return the soup to the pot over a low simmer.  To achieve your desired consistency, you may have to add up to a 12 cup more of water.  To serve, garnish with florets, chives and drizzle with browned butter.