Now that I have revived and renovated this quiet little blog, I feel the need to re-welcome you! Why? Well, if you were following me a few years ago through my blogger blog – gretchalina, then you surely knew that I was absent from it for a very long time. Since November of 2011, I had been working on photographing and building a food community based website and magazine called 513{eats}.
The truth is, I missed having a place to just be me. A place to share my own more personal things around food, recipes, family, travel, photography and styling tips, commissioned work, projects, etc. This blog is that place and I’m happy to be back.
You may notice a bit of cross-over, but it’s all food related, so it’s all good!
Let me re-celebrate by sharing this Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Capers and Parsley Oil that I made for my family this week. Yes?
Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Capers and Parsley Oil
{Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is}
Ingredients:
1 sweet onion, finely diced
1 half fennel bulb, finely diced
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon toasted ground coriander
5-6 grates of fresh nutmeg
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
4 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping creme
1/4 cups capers, patted completely dry
salt and pepper to taste
additional cauliflower for topping
fennel fronds for topping
chive oil
1/4 cup chopped chives
3-4 tablespoons olive oil – I used more like 1/4 plus cup of olive oil
Directions:
Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, add onions and fennel with a healthy pinch of kosher salt, the coriander, and the nutmeg. Mix and cook until soft and just starting to color, about 10 minutes. Add in chopped cauliflower and chicken stock, then cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until softened. A few times during cooking, mix a bit and make sure all the florets are getting cooked.
While cauliflower is cooking, make the chive oil. Combine the chives and olive oil in a blender or food processor and blend until totally smooth, then strain the oil thru a very fine mesh strainer. I set my small strainer over a bowl and then with the back of a spoon, pressed all the oil through I could.
To fry the capers, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add dry capers and shake the pan or stir, tossing until crispy and fried. Set aside to drain on a paper towel.
Once the cauliflower is soft, scoop some florets out and set aside for garnish. Use an immersion blender to puree until desired consistency.
Continue to heat over low heat, stirring in cream. Season to taste.
To serve, ladle soup into pre-warmed bowls, garnish with additional cauliflower, fennel fronds, freshly cracked pepper, capers and chive oil.
Note: Grated sharp cheddar cheese or crumbled blue cheese would be tasty additions as well.
