cauliflower, parsnip and gruyere soup

 

my cauliflower soup served in the divine Portmeirion Ted Baker ‘Langdon’ tableware

… well it’s been one of those weeks that both sped by like a freight-train with no brakes but also crawled along like the same train stuck by the power of a single leaf on the line.  So much to be done with so much to catch up on at work… emails, projectile vomiting into my mail account, the phone ringing on constant like a wailing child and to cap it all the most freezing weather imaginable combined with a ridiculous jet-lag that remains stubbornly clinging on to this tired old body.  All i’ve wanted all week was to come home to the cottage… back to my centre, my place of rest, my home.  We drove through thick and freezing fog but finally we made it and my god it’s good to be home, it really is.  Of course the first thing we did on arriving home was light a big fat warm fire to take the deep chill out of the walls – it’s frustrating that it takes a couple of days to warm the house up by which time we have to leave back from London again – and then the next thing I dd was make soup…

cauliflower, parsnip and gruyere soup

so, believe it or not this soup comes to you from the Christmas left-over veg bin at the back of the fridge.  I’m not competing for the longest keep post-Christmas veg it’s just that the only bag of parsnips I could buy prior to Christmas was huge and so when we left for California back on the 28th I placed all my left-over veg into the fridge knowing that the moment I got back to the cottage I would whip up some kind of glorious soup.  I adore the combination of cauliflower, parsnip and cheese, especially the gruyere with its nutty flavour that compliments both cauliflower and parsnip perfectly.  This soup delivers such a wonderful, warm hug of love in every spoonful and is so utterly the answer to this bitter cold.

• 1 medium white onion – peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large cauliflower – top layer of leaves and base of stalk removed but paler green leaves left on – chopped
• 6 medium parsnips – peeled and chopped
• 1 litre good quality vegetable stock
• 1 twig fresh thyme
• 1 twig fresh lemon thyme
• 150g gruyere cheese – finely grated

you will need a large pan with a lid

in a large pan over a medium heat, melt some butter and olive oil and then throw in the chopped onions and saute until soft but without colouring, then add the parsnips and cauliflower, stir and let it saute slightly before adding the thyme, salt and pepper.

turn the heat down to low and place the lid onto the pan and let the vegetables sweat for 10 mins until they’re soft, then pour in the stock, stir and let it gently bubble for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let it sit with the lid on to cool for another 10 mins before whizzing with a stick blender until creamy and smooth, then stir in the grated cheese until melted.

eat and of course, enjoy!