Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 4 to 6 serves
Ingredients:
- 2 streaky bacon
- 1 garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot
- 2 stalks (160 gm) celery
- 2 Tbsp plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 1 head (710gm) cauliflower,
- 3 cups (750ml) salt-reduced store-bought or homemade chicken stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2½ Tbsp (50ml) light pouring cream or milk
- cayenne pepper, optional, to taste
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Soak the cauliflower in salted water for 20 minutes. Drain well. Trim away the hard stem and cut into smaller pieces. Dice carrot, celery and bacon. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a heavy based pot over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until oil is released. Transfer the bacon onto kitchen papers to absorb excess oil. Don’t discard the oil in the pot. Reduce heat to medium. Saute the garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Stir in the flour and cook until it’s lightly browned. Add the cauliflower. Pour in the stock. Add the bay leaves, thyme. Increase heat to high. Bring it to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Drain half of the cauliflower out. Let it cool a bit. Put it into a food processor and blend it into a puree. Put back into the pot. When it boils again, add the cream and milk. Season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Add the bacon. Serve hot with crusty bread or salad if desired.
- By draining half of the cooked cauliflower and process into puree, it helps increase creaminess in the soup texture. Yet if a food processor doesn’t come in handy, you can skip this step.
- Choose cauliflower with firm and tightly packed heads, without any dirt or dark spots.
- Bay leaves, thyme and cayenne pepper are available at supermarkets and Asian grocers.
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