Zuppa

The Singer's Mom was in town for Skate Canada last weekend; it was a remarkable occasion as she had the dubious honour of being our first overnight guest. As they would be out and about during the days, and into the late evening, I was on domestic duty. Nothing new there, really, but I did take the opportunity to cook a bit.

So, in the course of making cream of cauliflower soup, I also took the time to make some Feta Pate (instead of anchovy paste, you can use a couple dashes of Lea and Perrins) and some Ginger Sparklers, since the soup took longer than I expected.

The soup turned out quite well though I modified it somewhat from the original recipe:

Ingredients
========

1 large cauliflower stalks discarded and florets chopped
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 medium onion , chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp leftover from breakfast bacon grease
5 C light chicken or vegetable stock
2 C homogenized milk
1/2 C whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

1. Put the cauliflower, potato and onion in a large saucepan with the bacon fat. Gently heat the contents until they start to sizzle, then cover with a lid and sweat over a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be softened but not coloured.

Actually, it took more like an hour for this step as I'd kept the heat low, and I'd chopped vegetables a little on the large side.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then pour in the milk and return gently to a boil. This way, there will be no scum forming from the milk. Season to taste then simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour in half the cream.

Blend everything in a food processor or blender, in batches. Save yourself the mess, and the trouble; invest in a hand blender. Stir in the rest of the cream while blending.

I'd show a picture, but, well, it's all gone.