Cauliflower Soup with Cheesy Toasts

Paula McIntyre - The Show's Resident Chef

Cauliflower cheese is a timeless classic dish and the flavours work well in a soup as well. I’ve used a floury potato to thicken the soup as well as a bit of cream to add a little richness.

For the Cauliflower Soup:

1 small cauliflower, broken into florets
200g peeled chopped potato
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
1 litre chicken stock
250ml whipping cream
30g butter
2 tablespoons Broighter Gold rapeseed oil
12 sage leaves

• Heat a tablespoon of the oil and 15g of the butter in a saucepan and add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook until soft and golden.
• Reserve 2 florets of the cauliflower and chop the rest quite finely.
• Add the potato to the pan with the stock and cream. Simmer for 10 minutes and add the chopped cauliflower.
• Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
• Blend to a smooth puree.
• Slice the 2 retained cauliflower florets.
• Heat the remaining oil and butter in a frying pan and add the cauliflower and sage – cook until golden.
• Spoon the soup into the bowls and scatter over the sage and cauliflower on top.

For the Cheesy Toasts:

8 medium slices sourdough bread or crusty
150g grated mature cheddar
50g soft butter
Handful chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

• Mix the cheddar and butter in a bowl well – beat for a minute.
• Add the herbs.
• Toast the bread on one side and spread the cheese mix on the other side and grill until golden and bubbling.
• Serve on the side of the soup.

Check out Paula’s other mouth-watering recipes.

Paula will once again serve up a delicious cooking programme at this year’s show.

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