Roasted Cauliflower Fennel Soup

I love cauliflower! It's become a little "on trend" as they say, in recent times, with the whole low carb thing and many people are substituting cauliflower to make their pizza bases and of course, a kind of rice. I've tried both and it's ok but perhaps not so much in my royal wheelhouse.

However the mere mention of a creamy soup made from cauliflower, and you had me at hello. Or cauliflower? Either way, this is a deliciously simple and comforting recipe that utilises your steam and convection heat combination perfectly in your CombiSteam. The steam will soften and tenderise the veggies so they blend perfectly, while the hit of convection heat will give them a little caramelisation which results in a more intense flavour than just plain old steamed or boiled cauli. 

It's gluten free and of course completely vegetarian. You could also easily make it dairy free/vegan by substituting the cream for some soy milk if you like. Plus, if you checked out my recent Facebook post on making your own stock you could use that too!

So let's get soupy with it!

photography: Trudy Schuringa

Ingredients:
1 very large cauliflower (cut into large florets) (or 2 small ones would work too!)
1 small fennel bulb (cut into eighths)
1 small brown onion (peeled and quartered)
3 cloves garlic (peeled)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1L vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup pure cream

Method:

1. Place the cauli, fennel, onion and garlic onto a baking tray (or two if too full) and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over the cumin and nutmeg and season it all very well with S&P.

2. Add the tray/s to the CombiSteam (cold start) and select Hot Air+Steaming/Combination function. Set the temperature to 180°C (variable steam setting to 30% if required)

3. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until everything is very tender and a little golden brown.

4. Meanwhile place the stock and the mustard into a large soup pot and bring to a simmer on your cooktop over medium high heat.

5. Add the roasted veggies to the hot stock. Use a stick blender* to blend until very smooth. Stir in the cream. Taste for seasoning and add extra S&P if needed.

6. Re-heat to serve hot with crusty bread and some of the gorgeous little green fronds from the end of the fennel.

*You can also use a traditional blender to blend in batches but allow it to cool before doing so - then return to the pot to re-heat.
*If you like it thicker you could always adjust the amount of stock to suit or thinner just add a little more stock.

This soup can be frozen, once cooled, in plastic containers and thawed, then reheated to serve.

I hope you like this one. It's simple but gorgeous and if you cook the veggies until they're very tender it will be silky smooth.

I can't help you with any of the bottom burps that you may experience the next day but I think you'll find it's well worth it!

Happy CombiSteaming!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x