I have been making a conscious effort to eat local, what is in season. It can be challenging in the cold months since you have very few stalls in the farmer’s market and very few options for vegetables. One vegetable that is abundantly available in fall and winter, is cauliflower. I like cauliflower cooked in many ways. I make many Indian dishes with Cauliflower like Cauliflower parantha ( made two ways), curry, roasted cauliflower, fritters etc. Today’s recipe is a little different, it is a soup which is perfect for the cold weather and the pesto topping really perks up the otherwise bland tasting vegetable.
Cauliflower soup with Pistachio pesto & chili oil
Ingredients
For the soup
1 head of Cauliflower
2 Gold potatoes
2 Garlic cloves
1 Leek
4 Cups Veg stock
Oil
Salt n Pepper
Method:
Cut cauliflower & potatoes into big pieces, sprinkle olive oil, salt n pepper.
Roast in 400F oven for about 35 mins with garlic cloves.
In the meantime, slice the white portion of the leek aute in olive oil for about 2 mins.
Saute in olive oil for about 2 mins
Add veg stock and cook until the vegetables are roasted.
Puree the roasted veg and the stock in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pistachio pesto
Ingredients:
½ cup Roasted Pistachios
¼ tsp each Cumin, Caraway coriander seeds
1 bunch Cilantro
1 Chopped tomato
1/4 -1/2 cup Olive oil
Dry roast the spices and grind with all the other ingredients.
If you wish to keep this a little longer, add more oilve oil to make a thinner pesto.
Chilli oil
1 tsp Crushed red chilli
1 tsp Caraway seeds
2 tbsp saffola oil
Dry roast the spices and keep aside.
Heat oil to almost smoking point and add spices. Cook a min longer.
To serve:
Ladle the cauliflower soup in a bowl,add a spoonful of the pesto. Drizzle a little bit of chili oil.
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