Sangita Agrawal's Cauliflower Soup is creamy but uses just a dot of cream.
The food blogger stir-fries garlic, onion and cauliflower till pink, and purees the veggies for a silky texture.
Fried florets of cauliflower and sliced garlic add a crunch to the velvety soup.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Sangita Agrawal
Cauliflower Soup
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 tbsp small cauliflower florets
- 4 garlic pods, sliced thin
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 potato, peeled and grated
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup milk + more if required
- 1 tbsp cream, optional
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- Oil for frying
- Few sprigs parsley, to garnish
- 2 tbsp grated cheese of your choice + extra to serve, optional
- 2 cups of water
Method
- Heat the butter and the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add half the garlic and chopped onion.
Fry till golden brown.
Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes more.
Take off heat, and transfer the vegetables into a pressure cooker.
Add the grated potato, salt and 2 cups of water.
Pressure cook over medium heat for 10 minutes of a few whistles.
Cool and transfer into a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
Transfer back into the saucepan and bring to boil over low heat.
Stir in the milk, pepper and nutmeg.
Cook for 5 minutes.
Adjust the thickness by adding more milk if required.
Stir in the cheese.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, fry the 2 tbsp cauliflower florets till golden brown.
Keep aside.
- In the same pan, fry the remaining sliced garlic over low heat till crisp and brown.
Just before serving mix the fried cauliflower in the soup.
Serve the soup topped with a few browned garlic flakes, a sprig of parsley and grated cheese.
Editor's Note: For those who like a little spice, add 1-2 tsp Tabasco and a pinch of black pepper powder.
For a vegan version, substitute butter with cashew butter, milk with almond or soy mik and use vegan cheese.
For a Jain caulflower soup, omit potato, onion and garlic and add additional flavour by adding dried ginger, asafetida, peas puree and a handful of uncooked pasta when adding the milk. You may need to add 1 tbsp cornflour to thicken the soup in absence of potatoes.
Sangita Agrawal lives in Mumbai and publishes the food blog Bliss of Cooking.