My beautiful friend Elainee gave me this brilliant idea for this hearty soup today. She had tried a fennel consommé and my wheels began to turn because I had some bone broth I wanted to use up and a head of cauliflower. So I went to the market and picked up fennel and shallots, and the inspiration for this very tasty soup was born.
I roasted a head of cauliflower, a large fennel bulb, shallots and garlic for around 60 minutes until they were very soft and tender. The beauty about roasting is that it sweetens the flavors. On cold windy days like today, I love to turn that into a hearty soup by adding bone broth and some cream.
Ingredients:
1 whole cauliflower
1 large fennel
2 shallots
4 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of rosemary
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of bone broth
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of grated parmeggiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp of chili powder
juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
Start by chopping up your cauliflower into florets. Chop your shallot and peel your garlic. Slice your fennel into coarse pieces. Remove the roasemary from the sprig and disgard the stem.
If you have purchased fennel with the fronds (or stalks), you can choose to add it to the roasting pan. However, I used some of it here and then kept the rest to use as a rack for a slab of pork belly that I was roasting today as well. You can also use it when making stock. The leaves can replace dill in some recipes.
Toss the vegetables with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Roast them at 400 F for 60 minutes, or until they are cooked through and soft.
When they are cooked, place them into a blender and add in your bone broth, and blend until smooth. When I did this, I did find that it was a little bit grainy,. This may have been because I needed a longer cook time. So I decided to strain it and get a more velvety texture. A total game changer! As you heat it on the stove top on medium, add in the heavy cream and the grated parmesan cheese, the lemon juice and your spices. The lemon juice adds this wonderful brightness to the soup!
Simmer for 20 minutes, and serve. Garnish with some crumbled bacon.
Kali Oreksi!
on xenia street 