Cauliflower Soup from 70s Denmark aka Heaven
This months recipe comes from a very special place, a cookbook published in 1974 called ‘Grøn Gastronomi’ by Danish vegetarian pioneer Paul Holt. He was the husband of one of my parents’ friends and in general this book is warmly associated with my childhood on the small island of Funen. And luckily the recipes are all very delicious and inventive, bringing life to some of those vegetables that can be boiled into oblivion if you’re not careful. Cauliflower is possibly the number one victim of this, but let’s discuss that? What vegetable is the most exposed to long visits to the pot spa? Answers on a postcard please.
Anyway! Since I work as a translator I thought it appropriate that I translate this gem of a recipe for cauliflower soup. So here it is:
Serves 4 people
Ingredients -
1 medium cauliflower
800 ml stock or water (I recommend using 400ml chicken stock and 400ml water)
25 g butter (use olive oil to make this recipe vegan)
2 small onions
1 carrot
2 tbsp flour
100 ml cream (leave out for vegan recipe)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Parsley
Optional - parmesan
How to -
1. Cut around ¾ of florets off the cauliflower and blanch them in the 400ml water that you are using for the soup. This will take around 5-6 minutes. Once tender, drain (but keep the water) and leave the florets aside for later.
2. Chop the remaining cauliflower, adding some of the green leaves is advised too but leave out any really tough stalky bits, and chop the carrot and onions as well.
3. Saute the vegetables in the the butter (or oil) for around 5 mins, adding salt and pepper, making sure they don’t brown.
4. Add the flour and stir well for another minute or so.
5. Add the blanching water and the stock, bring it to a boil while you stir. Then let it simmer for 30-40 minutes.
6. Take the pot off the heat and blitz the soup with a hand blender or let it cool enough to blend in a normal blender.
7. Put the pot back on the heat, bring the soup to a boil again while whisking in the cream (or not, for the vegan version skip that!), add some chopped parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Paul recommends lot of pepper actually, and so do I.
8. Then add back the blanched florets for some great texture! Make sure they are heated through and then the soup is ready to serve. It’s really good with some grated parmesan on it too!
Enjoy!
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I shall get back to you.
Original recipe:
Sofie is a member at Studio 70 and writes a monthly food blog here. She loves making and sharing food with the people she loves - for her, it is the ultimate expression of kindness and care.