Purple Cauliflower Soup
I found myself with an extremely large head of purple cauliflower. It was at a local produce store and it was so pretty I could not resist. I had already eaten some in a mix of roasted vegetables. Since it was a little chilly I thought soup might be fun. So that is what I did with it. I made sure to add some vinegar to the soup to help keep the soup a bright color. I was worried it might go a bit grey, if I didn’t. I do the same thing with purple cabbage and it seems to work.
I am usually good about writing down what I do, but I confess I was visiting with a friend while making the soup so I was a bit distracted. As with most soups, there is room to change things up a bit anyway. I know I used about half of the head of the cauliflower, coarsely chopped. I know I started with a quart of broth and added a bit more. I served mine with a few cashews on top for texture. I would have added croutons if I had some.
So the recipe below is as close as I can get. I hope you try it and I hope it turns out for you and nicely as it turned out for me. My friend and I both enjoyed it.
Purple Cauliflower Soup
3 T. oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 c. chopped cabbage
4-6 c. purple cauliflower, chopped
4-6 c. stock, chicken or vegetable
¼ c. red wine vinegar
1 T. hot sauce, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
½ c, half and half, optional
In a soup pot cook the onions in oil until tender. Add the celery and cabbage and cook about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the cauliflower, 4 cups of the stock and the vinegar and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes. The smaller you chop the cauliflower the quicker it will get tender. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Or you can puree the soup in a blender in batches. Add the hot sauce. Adjust the seasonings and add more stock if you like a thinner soup. Add the half and half if you want a creamier texture. Served 6. The soup freezes well.
Note: Any color cauliflower works in this recipe. I had the purple cauliflower and I love the way the finished soup looked. The vinegar was added to set the color and keep the cauliflower soup bright purple. You might not need to add it to a white cauliflower soup, but I also like the zip it added to the soup.
