cauliflower soup with pecan nuts and mushrooms

18/02/2012  |  38 Comments »

I love soup. It love making it not just for the winter but simple and light soup during Spring/Summer is always a must for me too. Soup is classified into clear and thick soup. Clear soup in French is always referred to bouillon and consommé. Thick soup is usually purées and thickened with cream, eggs or butter. Rice and grains are sometimes used as great additions to the soup and agents of thickening too.

Thick chunky soup like French Onion Soup is always a comfort dish for me. It the kind of dish that can be eaten as main with some slices of crusty bread. Another of my favourite has to be Butternut Squash Soup that is so easy to make and so tasty.

My maternal grandparents hailed from the region of Canton in China. Thus, soup is always a must during each meal. I remember how passionate my grandmother was in cooking. When I was young, we visited my maternal grandparents at least once a week.

Though quite blurry, I could still remember that my grandmother spent a lot of time in the kitchen, making all the dishes from scratch and there was always a big pot of soup waiting for us. A dinner or lunch was never served without soup. So, I think, that tradition was passed down to my mom. Mom loves her soup. She always makes sure there is soup served during each meal.

Though I am going to share a Western-style soup today, I hope to share in the future posts, a few of my favourite Chinese-style soups that mom makes a lot.

Cauliflower is a great and versatile vegetable. Other than steaming or stir-frying, I like to use it to make into soup. So far, I have only tried the white variety. The purple one looks absolutely stunning, I wonder if the soup will look appealing. Cauliflower soup is nice, but it is even nicer when it is served with some pan-fried mushrooms and chopped toasted pecan nuts. The combinations give Autumn/Winter feel overall and it’s great for the weather we have now!

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cauliflower soup

cauliflower soup with pecan nuts and mushrooms

Yield: 4 persons

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs lemon thyme
800g cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 litre chicken or vegetal stock
50ml milk
80ml double cream
150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
a big handful of pecan nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a deep heavy-based pan over a medium heat, put 1 tbsp of the olive oil and add the onion, garlic, bay leaves and lemon thyme, fry for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the chopped cauliflower and the stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

2. Remove the bay leaves and lemon thyme, carefully pour the soup mixture into a food processor and blend to a purée. Pour back into a saucepan over low heat, add the milk and double cream. Stir to mix, season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, put the rest of the olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms, fry for 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and brown. Remove from the heat and set aside. To serve, divide the soup into individual bowls, top equal portion of fried mushrooms and pecan nuts. Garnish with some lemon thyme leaves if desired.

boiling, eat your greens, one pot & one pan, other western
38 Comments »
 

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38 Responses to “cauliflower soup with pecan nuts and mushrooms”

  1. 1
    Sukaina — 18/02/2012 @ 19:10

    Great minds think alike. I just bought a beautiful purple cauliflower and was wondering what to do with it. This soup looks like a good idea!

  2. 2
    Rosa — 18/02/2012 @ 19:34

    Lovely cauliflowers! So colorful.

    That soup is great. Nice flavor combo!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:51

      I love the purple ones and would like to get my hands on next!

  3. 3
    A_Boleyn — 18/02/2012 @ 21:06

    My mother also believed that a bowl to soup to start a meal was a good idea and this creamy cauliflower soup would be very flavourful and nourishing as well.

    I too would be curious to see a cauliflower soup made with those beautiful purple jewels. :)

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:52

      Yes, it’s definitely nourishing to start a meal with a soup. I am tempted to try to use the purple cauliflowers to make into soup but I’d imagine the colour would turn out not as nice as I’d like it to be.

  4. 4
    Magic of Spice — 19/02/2012 @ 02:22

    These photos are gorgeous, and really love the shot of cauliflower! And this soup is nothing short of divine…just delicious!

  5. 5
    Kiran @ KiranTarun.com — 19/02/2012 @ 05:46

    Ah, what a coincidence! I just bought a green cauliflower to shoot for a soups — quoting Sukaina, “great minds think alike” :)

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:54

      Oh wow!! How cool!

  6. 6
    Terra — 19/02/2012 @ 06:32

    Those cauliflowers are simple stunning! I love the idea of pecans in the soup, what a great flavor combination! Beautiful, Take care, Terra

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:55

      Yes, pecans are definitely great addition to the soup! :)

  7. 7
    labonnebouche — 19/02/2012 @ 07:11

    Gorgeous photos of the cauliflowers, they look so cute together. I love the combination of flavours – cauliflower, pecan nuts and mushrooms, I have to give it a try next time I make cauliflower soup. Thanks for sharing

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:55

      Give it a go, you’ll love it! :D

  8. 8
    Sylvia@Peaches and Donuts — 19/02/2012 @ 15:53

    I think the Purple ones will look beautiful in a soup!!

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:56

      I’d thought so, but I am not very sure if it would really turn out with a vibrant colour.

  9. 9
    tigerfish — 20/02/2012 @ 03:48

    I am also a huge fan of soups! Love them. I make Chinese/Asian soups more often though. I have been thinking of getting an immersion blender so that I can start making such delicious (smooth, velvety) soup like yours.

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:56

      I need to make more Chinese soup. When I did, I made it so quick that I didn’t have the time to take photos!

  10. 10
    Ellena — 20/02/2012 @ 08:17

    Drool! Your cauliflower soup look fab with the addition of mushrooms and pecan nuts. I am a fan of cauliflower and this is sure a great soup to bookmark!!! By the way it quite difficult for to find purple cauliflower here so I guess i only left the choice to try the white version :)

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:57

      I think with the white version is great. I am going to try one day with the purple and let ya know. :D

  11. 11
    noobcook — 20/02/2012 @ 12:15

    your soup is beautiful, and I like the purple cauliflower – not seen it here before.

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:57

      Thank you! I love the purple one too!

  12. 12
    kitchenvoyage — 20/02/2012 @ 14:28

    Fantastic food blog, I just discovered and I am already in love with your pictures!

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 21st, 2012 @ 19:58

      Thanks for dropping by! Stay tuned for more yummy food! :D

  13. 13
    Christine's Recipes — 22/02/2012 @ 01:50

    Haven’t seen the purple cauliflowers around here. They are so beautiful ! Great pics.

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:21

      Thank you, Christine!

  14. 14
    Maameemoomoo — 22/02/2012 @ 06:50

    Please try the purple one. If only I can find it here. Hehe!

    I haven’t had cauliflower for the longest time until now, ever since I discovered they make fab soup! Also, with my newfound love for aloo gobi, cauliflower now sits pretty high on my fav list. ;)

    Ps . I’m making cauliflower soup for tonight!

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:22

      I would like to try making aloo gobi! Let me know how the soup turned out! :)

  15. 15
    anh — 22/02/2012 @ 08:55

    Lovely soup! I love cauliflowers. They are wonderful.

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:22

      Cauliflower is a great vegetable! :)

  16. 16
    Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen — 23/02/2012 @ 09:40

    A silky cauliflower soup is one of my favorite things to eat in winter, so soothing.

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:22

      Yes, it really warms my body and soul. :D

  17. 17
    Yuri — 23/02/2012 @ 10:18

    I am drooling! Cauliflower soup is one of my favories, too! I can have bowls of soup every day in any season of the year as I will never get tried having them:-) beautiful photos!

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:24

      It is my favourite too. :) Thanks for your comment. :)

  18. 18
    Juliana — 23/02/2012 @ 21:06

    Nice soup…like the various texture, creamy to crunchy.
    Hope you are having a fabulous week :)

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — February 25th, 2012 @ 16:24

      Yeah I really love the addition of pecan nuts. :)

  19. 19
    Juliana — 28/02/2012 @ 22:54

    This cauliflower soup looks delicious and so creamy…like the idea of nuts on it…
    beautiful pictures!

    • My Cooking Hut replied: — March 1st, 2012 @ 22:24

      Thank you! Yes the nuts add really earthy flavour and nice crunch! :)

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