421. Cauliflower Soup

Despite the relentless summer heat, we still choose to break our Ramadan fast with a soup.
This soup tastes so decadent although it contains no milk nor cream.

Its luxurious white sheen and rich consistency are all due to the humble cauliflower.
When you taste the soup, you know it is good, but you can't tell that it is made of cauliflower.
The drizzle of olive oil and cracked pepper to serve are optional, but I do recommend it.
One might almost call this soup a diet soup, were it not so opulent in flavor.
Another plus? It totally qualifies as an albeit delicious diet soup.
Adapted from sticky gooey creamy chewy.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped or thinly sliced

1 head very fresh cauliflower (about 750g), broken into florets

1 tsp salt

5 1/2 cups water, divided

Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat.

Sweat the onions in the olive oil without letting them brown for 15 minutes.

Add the cauliflower florets, salt and 2 cups water.  

Raise the heat slightly, cover the pot tightly and stew the cauliflower for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender. Then add another 3 1/2 cups hot water, bring to a low simmer and cook an additional 20 minutes uncovered.

Set aside to slightly cool before puréeing the soup in a blender to a very smooth, creamy consistency. 

Let the soup stand for 20 minutes. In this time it will thicken slightly.

Thin the soup with 1/2 cup hot water, if needed. Reheat the soup.

Serve hot, drizzled with a thin stream of extra-virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

صحة و عافية