We’ve been eating this soup for most of the past week, it’s middle of the winter in Canberra so a warming soup is indicated.
I start with a Cauliflower with the leaves trimmed (they usually get added to the next stock pot)
Cut the florets off with a small paring knife and dip them in a saucer of milk (or whey, or stock - we’re soaking the surface with protein to provoke the Maillard reaction.
Put them in a tray and hot smoke them for about 30 minutes
They will go golden brown
Then add them to an instant pot with about a litre of stock (chicken or vegetable) and the milk in the dish you soaked the florets with … and cook under pressure for about 20 mins (this is the soup setting on mine). Then Blend with a stick mixer.
I freeze this mixture in a silicone ice block mold (2/3rd cup or 150 mls per serving)
1 head of cauliflower makes roughly 24 servings
To reconstitute, I put an “iceblock” into a magic bullet container and microwave for a minute, add about 2 tbs of butter and microwave it for an extra minute.
Put a little piece of a soft stinky cheese - like a blue cheese, or in this case a washed rind triple cream brie. Blend the hot cauliflower and butter in the magic bullet until it has aerated and become foamy. Pour the hot mix over the stinky cheese surprise
Fry up some chorizo (this is actually saucisse de Toulouse … but near enough) and garnish the bowl.
We’ve also had this lately with prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears, truffle butter to make the soup and a shaving of truffles … because it’s Truffle fest time in Canberra. And in this case instead of hiding the cheese, we blended some aged cheddar and half a teaspoon of sodium citrate in to make it a cauliflower Cheese Truffle soup.
