It's Soup Season
A simple, perfect cauliflower soup is everything you need right now
It’s the time of year when the holidays are behind us and our thoughts turn to ensuring the best version of ourselves go forward into the new year. We vow to become people who exercise, speak foreign languages, sleep soundly, and cook healthy meals.
It is the perfect time for soup.
Soup is the savior of the dreary days of January when the skies are grey, everything is cold and the abundance of fresh fruit and veg of sunny summer days are a distant memory. A warm bowl of soup feels like being wrapped in a soft blanket and smells like a hug. It’s everything you need right now.
One of the beautiful things about soup is that there is no wrong way to soup. It can be anything you want it to be. Creamy or brothy, thick or thin, hot or cold, fruity or veg forward, spicy or mild - there is a soup for every occasion and mood. Soup is happy to be a clever first course, a dazzling main attraction, or even a supporting character that quietly brings the entire meal together.
It’s also a great way to eat more veggies, without even realizing it.
Soup has the amazing quality to be transformed from a warm broth with slices of carrots, potatoes, and other tasty things to a creamy, rich, decadent bowl of wonder without adding any actual dairy, simply by employing one essential soup-making tool.
Enter the immersion blender.
The immersion blender is the one kitchen tool that I absolutely cannot be without. Smaller and more convenient than the blender and lighter than the bulky food processor, the immersion blender shines by taking soup from brothy to creamy in one step - in the same pan.
Using the immersion blender allows you to choose how smooth you’d like your soup to be - from chunky to silky. Blending releases the natural pectin found in most vegetables, creating a thick, naturally creamy texture, without adding additional thickeners and creams.
This works with grains and legumes, too. Pureeing a little bit of soup with cooked rice, pasta, bread, beans, or lentils just before serving thickens it up and improves its creamy texture.
Simply cook your soup as planned and when the vegetables or grains are soft, turn off the heat and blend away. When the soup is as smooth as you’d like, let it cool a bit. It will thicken a little more as it cools. Ladle up your soup, add a drizzle of olive oil, and serve, preferably with a chunk of crusty toasted bread.
Don’t have an immersion blender?
Cool your soup and puree it in small batches in a blender. Letting the soup cool before pureeing is imperative, as hot soup tends to blow the lid off of the blender, spraying hot soup all over the kitchen.
I’ve included a recipe for Paul Bertolli’s Cauliflower Soup. It is a beautiful example of what simple, pure veggies are capable of. Only containing cauliflower, onion, water, olive oil, salt, and pepper, it sounds a bit austere. Resist the urge to add bacon or cheese or chile powder. You’ll be glad you did. It’s perfect on its own. Enjoy!
With love and soup -
Chelly
