We’ve teamed up with Josie Eveleigh of Where Josie Goes to bring you an exciting new online series Feasting in France.
Recipe for cauliflower soup with walnut and Stilton toast below
Follow Josie’s cooking adventures in France as she joins well-known South African chef and author Marlene van der Westhuizen in her home in Charroux to learn how to cook French style. Every week we’ll bring you two new recipes which you can find here on our website. This week’s recipes are for a hearty cauliflower soup and an apple cider glazed onion tart. Visit the SA Garden and Home Instagram account on Tuesdays to see Josie’s Instagram story takeover.
CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH WALNUT AND STILTON TOAST
(Serves 6)
INGREDIENTS
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1T butter
1,25kg cauliflower, broken into florets
3 leeks, chopped and well rinsed
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1,5L chicken stock
1 bouquet garni with sage, thyme and 2 bay leaves (we made ours with a hollowed out leek, stuffed with herbs and tied together with cooking twine)
salt and white pepper, to taste
60ml walnut oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2T fresh sage
6 slices rustic bread
150g Stilton cheese, room temperature
METHOD
1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-based saucepan.
2. Gently toss 1kg of the cauliflower florets in the olive oil and butter.
3. Add the leeks, garlic, chicken stock and bouquet garni and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables are tender.
4. Remove and discard the bouquet garni.
5. Blend the soup with a hand-held liquidiser until it has a gloriously creamy consistency. Season to taste and keep warm.
6. Meanwhile, heat 40ml of the walnut oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and the sage.
7. Finely dice the rest of the cauliflower florets and add to the pan. Cook until crisp and season.
8. Heat the oven to grill, place the slices of bread on a roasting pan and toast on both sides, remove and drizzle with the remaining walnut oil. Spread the hot toast with the Stilton cheese.
9. Ladle the hot soup into warm bowls, spoon some of the crisp cauliflower and sage mixture on top of each and serve with a slice of the Stilton toast.