The Gannets love this soup. There is something utterly comforting about the creamy whiteness of it, and it’s perfect for this time of year. So easy to make and so impressive to serve. If you are serving this as a starter for guests it’s easy to make the day before and refrigerates well for at least 2 days. Simply reheat and prepare fresh garnish. A bowl served with some fresh crusty bread and butter makes a wonderful lunch.
Recipe after the jump.
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower (about 1 kg or a bit more if you can get one)
- 1 large potato
- 1 medium onion
- 25 grams butter
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 900 ml light chicken or vegetable stock (you may need a bit more if the cauli is huge)
- 600 ml full-fat milk
- 150 ml double cream
- 1-2 tablespoon chives
- 250 grams wild mushrooms – choose from ceps, girolles (chanterelles), morels (either a mixture or just one type) (optional)
- 200 grams pancetta or bacon, very thinly sliced (optional)
Method
- Remove the centre stalk from the cauliflower, and cut the florets off of the branches (discarding everything but the florets). Chop. Remember this is all going in the blender so there is no need to preserve any beauty.
- Peel and chop the onion.
- Chop the potato into large chunks. If you want to be extra fancy (and for the soup to be extra white) then by all means peel your potato, but I don’t.
- Put the butter and 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan, heat and add the cauliflower, potato and onion. Gently (gently!) heat the vegetables until you hear a bit of sizzle and then cover and turn the heat to LOW and sweat for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. You want the veg to be soft by not take on any colour. (Don’t panic if they do… as long as you don’t carbonise anything, you’ll live.)
- Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
- Add the milk and return VERY GENTLY to the boil. Hopefully you won’t accumulate any scum from the milk, but if you do just skim it off.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft enough to mash easily with a fork but still have some body.
- Pour in half the cream.
- Blend everything, in batches in your blender. (Do be careful – only fill the blender half way and use a tea towel to hold the lid on very firmly.) Or use a Bamix if you’re lucky enough to have one. (I don’t think a run of the mill stick blender will do, sadly. Blender or Bamix only please.)
- Stir in the rest of the cream and keep the soup warm in the saucepan while you prep the garnish.
- If you are using pancetta or bacon, you can go ahead and fry them in a bit of oil until crisp and set aside to drain during step 8. Chop or snip into bite-size strips.
- If you are using mushrooms, it’s worth waiting and doing them last as the flavour will be better if they are warm. Wild mushrooms can be gritty so wash (don’t soak) in a bowl of water and drain/pat dry before trimming and frying them in about 2 tbsp of oil until nicely browned. Make sure to season them with salt and pepper as they cook.
- To serve, make sure the soup is piping hot (reheat if necessary), ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chopped chives and place your mushrooms or pancetta in a nice arrangement in the centre of the bowl.
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