LEEK, CAULIFLOWER, PARMESAN RIND SOUP
I tend to hyper fixate on soups and only make the same one for a really long time. I make a big batch and freeze two portions for WFH lunches or mid week suppers that I need to be nutritious and quick. The other week I had plans to roast the cauliflower to make veggie bowls but I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with all the steps for that. I also had a leek and a few potatoes so I decided to just see how I could go making a cauliflower and leek soup. I roasted the cauliflower and slowly softened the leeks in some butter then boiled everything in some stock/broth to oblivion and blitzed. It was amazing and the thing that really gave it depth was adding in some Parmesan rind. I just let it boil and cook down until the rind was soft enough to be blitzed into the soup also. It was HEAVEN.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1 large leek
1L of chicken stock or Bone Broth (I used this one from Wholesomemarkt)
2 large potatoes
60g butter
Tarragon
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and Pepper
3tbsp and extra to drizzle on top
A slice of bread - Toasted with butter
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius on a fan function.
Cut the head of cauliflower into florets and coat with olive oil, salt in pepper on a baking tray and place in the oven. Cook for 30 mins or until they just get golden.
Cut the top off the leek and cut the stem into 4 portions then cut those 4 portions length ways and rinse under water.
Using your fingers brush the sand out of the layers of leek under the water.
Once clean pat them dry and finely chop all the leeks and place into a cold stock pot with the butter and tarragon. Turn the heat on low and slowly stir until they are completely soft.
You want them to really soften and not crisp or get brown, so add a bit of water if you need and let it evaporate/cook the leeks.
Cut up the potatoes into the smallest pieces you can and them the stock, the cauliflower, Parmesan rind in to the pot and boil until you can mash everything lightly with your spoon. This is about 15-20 minutes.
If you dont have a stick blender you need to let everything cool right down and then in batches blitz it in traditional blender. If you have a stick blender let it cool for 10-15 mins and blend it in the pot.
Add the milk and bring it to the boil. Have a quick taste and season it with the nutmeg, salt or pepper.
Serve with toast and drizzle of oil.