cauliflower + jerusalem artichoke {soup}

I’m definitely in a soup frame of mind lately. I could say that’s it’s the cold weather that is making me crave a steaming bowl of something. But, well, it’s just not that cold in Rome yet. So maybe it’s the other way around? Maybe, if I keep making soup, I’ll trick my body into believing that winter is finally here.

In the meantime I’ll just keep making soup, and enjoying it in the sun on my terrace. (yes, it’s been that warm here)

My latest soup is a mixture of things from our garden. This year’s harvest of jerusalem artichokes has been abundant and I’ve been making them into soups and gratins. But I’m finally getting to the bottom of the basket, and so decided to use the last few lumpy nuggets as a soup topping rather than the basis of the soup itself. Almost like vegetable croutons. I scrubbed them (actually I made Domenico scrub them) to get off all the dirt, but then didn’t even bother to peel them. If you have a pretty stiff brush, the toughest part of the skin sort of comes off. And it’s all edible anyway. After that I just diced them, tossed them in some olive oil, and roasted them until they turned toasty brown.

In the meantime the soup got underway with cauliflower and onion, which got whizzed up with a cup of milk and a heaping cup full of grated caciocavallo. I’m a big believer in cheesy soups. While I don’t like adding heavy cream to soups, I do like them to be a bit rich and savory. I often do this with the addition of pork, but bits and pieces of left over cheese will do very nicely, and pair especially well with things like cauliflower and broccoli. Just add the cheese at the very end, letting it melt in and dissolve. This works particularly well when you’re using just water, not broth, in your soup. It adds that heaping dose of umami.

This way of making soup is not only easy, it’s very pretty. I like keeping the different vegetables separate, roasting some and letting the others cook into a mush. Other combos could be broccoli with carrot croutons, or carrot with potato croutons or…really, the choice is up to you. And it’s a great way to use up those leftover nubbins of cheese. (because, we all have that problem, right?)

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cauliflower + jerusalem artichoke {soup}

Prep 15 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 45 mins

Author Elizabeth

Yield 6

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 1 medium head of cauliflower (2 pounds/ 1 kilo)
• 120 grams grated cacciocavallo cheese (about 1 cup grated)
• 4 tbls olive oil
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 pound / 500 grams jerusalem artichokes
• 1 cup whole milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200C/ 400F
2. Scrub the jerusalem artichokes well, so that all the dirt is gone. Then dice into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with 2 Tblsp olive oil. Lay in single later on parchment covered oven pan. Sprinkle with salt and place in oven. Let cook until well browned, stirring half way. This will take about 25 minutes or so.
3. In the meantime chop onion and place in soup pot along with the remaining 2 tblsp of the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes.
4. Wash and chop the cauliflower up into smallish pieces, about 1 inch chunks. Add to the pot once onions are soft. Stir and add enough water to just cover. Bring to simmer and cook until very soft. (about 20-30 minutes).
5. When the cauliflower is basically falling apart, mash it up. I use a hand held potato masher, which is great because it leaves the soup kind of lumpy. But you can use a hand held blender if you’d like. Add the cup of milk, over low heat, mixing it in well. Then stir in the grated cheese until mixed and melted. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
6. To serve ladle the soup into individual bowls, and then top with jerusalem artichokes and a bit more freshly grated black pepper.