Blog Archives
Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
I have started using cauliflower more and more in my recipes. It is a great source of vitamin C, combined with manganese which makes it a good antioxidant. It also contains a good amount of Fibre as well as several other vitamins. I am discovering that it is very versatile and am finding new ways to use, such as in my brunch recipe where it is used as the anchor for a healthy stack to replace bread. Since I love making and eating soup, this was perfect for me.
During one of my cleaning of my recipe folders, I came across this clipping from several years ago. I decided to try it and adapt it to suit our taste.
This is a great meal for lunch!
Ingredients
- 1 medium size cauliflower cut into florets
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 3 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 onion
- 1 potato, peeled and diced
- 1 bay leaf, 1tsp of dried thyme
- 5 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup of evaporated skim milk
Toss the cauliflower florets with oil as well as salt and pepper to taste and spread on a cookie sheet to roast in the oven at 425F for 10-15 minutes.
Cook the bacon in a large saucepan until browned and then remove them and discard all the fat except for about 1tbsp.
Add the butter and then toss in the onion, the potato, the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes.
Add the cauliflower and the stock (I used my homemade stock from the freezer which I freeze in bags of 4 cups). Bring to boil and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Discard the bay leave, add half the bacon and purée the soup in your blender.
Return to saucepan and add the milk (you can substitute with half and half cream for a richer soup), gently re-heating. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Decorate with the reserved bacon, some fresh parsley or croutons as you wish.
Parsley Pesto Roasted Cauliflower and Egg Stack for Sunday Brunch
Here is an awesome and healthy brunch / lunch idea I tried today. It was so good, even hubby approved!
Ingredients
- cauliflower head
- 4 tbsp of parsley pesto (1 per side). Recipe for parsley pesto from a previous post
- thick slices of tomatoes
- 1 egg per cauliflower slice
- salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste
- black olives and capers to taste
Cut a cauliflower right in the middle and then cut 2 to 3 1-inch thick slices depending on the size of your cauliflower. Spread generously with parsley pesto on the side facing up.
Place the cauliflower slices in the oven at broil (setting high) about 6 inches from the element. Roast for about 3-5 minutes, checking often. Once it is browning, turn them over and brush with pesto on the other side. Place under the broiler for another 3-5 minutes (or however long it takes to brown in your oven).
Place a slice in the middle of a plate and cover with 2 thick slices of tomatoes.
Fry an egg sunny side up and slide onto the tomatoes. Season with garlic salt and pepper and sprinkle with capers and / or olives if you like them 🙂
Enjoy with a white wine spritzer!!
Mediterranean Roasted Cauliflower Salad
This is a favorite at my table as well as a big hit whenever I bring a side at a dinner party. The secret is the anchovy paste.
You will need:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 5 tbsp of olive oil:
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 2 tsp of anchovy paste
- 1/2 cup of kalamata olive (black ones):
- 2 tbsp of capers (find them with the olives)
- Salt and pepper
This recipe will make 4 portions. Of course, you need to buy bottles of olive oil, lemon juice etc…but once you have them, you can use them often. This recipe will cost roughly $6.00 when calculating proportionally.
Start with a head of cauliflower particularly in season. Cut it in large florets and place in a bowl then sprinkle with some olive oil salt and pepper. You will need roughly 2 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of cracked pepper and salt.
You can roast it in the oven at 400F for about 15 minutes (depending on the oven) or if you have access to one, the BBQ is the best. Roast them by turning them every 4 minutes. The key is to get the nice brown markings without the burning 🙂
In both case, they should still be al dente (crunchy).
Next, let them cool so you can handle them. Meanwhile mix 3 tbsp of olive oil with 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 2 tsp of anchovy paste. Whip the ingredients with your fork until the paste is well integrated in the mixture.
Cut the florets in bite sizes, place in a pretty bowl and add 2 tbsp of capers, 1/2 cup of kalamata olive pitted (buy them already pitted, much easier) and the olive oil mixture.
Mix it up and Voilà!
Martine's food and places 
