Cauliflower Soup with Brown Butter Sage and Arugula

Texture and aroma—these two additions to soup make it unforgettable! Cauliflower, as you all know can be known as a blank canvass, so to make it delicious, I added several elements that made everyone at the table want more of it!

Here’s the recipe for this delicious masterpiece. Again, as usual, feel free to substitute with more plant-based items, if you are keen to. My suggestion is to try using almond milk or make your own roasted pine nut milk as a substitute for milk and cream.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram of cauliflower florets in even sizes if possible
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon of dried sage
• ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 4-5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 250 ml of all-purpose cream
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ cup of medium brown toasted pine nuts
• ¼ cup of fresh sage and arugula leaves
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Salt and Pepper
• Optional: 1 cup of all-purpose flour, if you would like your soup to be a little thicker.
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of truffle oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to about 150 degrees Celsius.
2. Place ¼ cup of cauliflower florets (cut into smaller pieces that can fit a spoon) on a baking tray and drizzle some olive oil, seasoning this with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
3. If you are toasting the pine nuts in the oven add this to the baking tray. You can opt to also toast these on a pan until it is brown.
4. In a pot, saute the garlic and onion, along with 1 tablespoon of dried sage.
5. Once the onions are a little translucent, add the remaining cauliflower, season with salt and pepper, and saute for a minute.
6. Add the vegetable or chicken stock, and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the parmesan cheese, cream, and milk and simmer for 8 more minutes.
8. While that’s going, on a saucepan, add the butter and heat this on medium-high heat. When the butter starts to lightly brown, add the sage and arugula, which will cook and crisp up. Set aside.
9. Put the cauliflower soup mixture in a blender (or you can use a hand blender if you have one) and place this back in the pot. If the soup is a bit thin, you can choose to add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, whisking this in slowly and making sure the soup boils for a good 2-3 minutes until the soup thickens.
10. Serve on bowls, topping each one with brown butter, crispy sage and arugula, toasted pine nuts, and roasted cauliflower. Enjoy!