Creamy, Cheesy Cauliflower Dip

December 29, 2016

Creamy, steamy, cheesy and delicious cauliflower dip

Cauliflower: the big, white, bulbous veg that is so versatile. It can be crunchy when roasted, or creamy when pureed. It's nutritious and delicious. (and even facilitates my propensity to rhyme.) Seriously, what more can you ask of it. But I did. Please can you be a creamy, cheesy dip for my cocktail party? And the answer was, Sure Thing.

Since this dip was such a hit for my post Thanksgiving cocktail party I thought it only fitting and quite appropriate to bookend the year by posting another cauliflower dish. I started this blog with the simple but versatile Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup and I end the year with another simple but this time decadent cauliflower dish that will help ring in the New Year's Eve. There is no faux in the creamy nature of this dip. It's real, alright. And it's cheesy, gooeyness is completely sanctioned when one is kicking out the old and cheering in the new.

Just as with the soup you can add a variety of extras as you desire. You can even play with different spices, too. This is was my first attempt at asking my cauliflower to be dippable so I didn't venture too far into the experimental. That said, we did just fine. Here are the basics.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1/4 c shallots, minced
1/4 c onion, minced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
Magic 3 (oil, salt, pepper)
1/8 t red pepper flakes (optional, if you like a little heat)
1/2 c sautéd escarole (optional, I had some leftover from the Escarole Rolls so I tossed it in)
2/3 c fontina, grated (or cheese of your choice, Gruyere would be yummy)
Crusty bread, for serving
Endive, gluten free option for serving

Instructions

Break up the cauliflower in pieces and boil it in salted water.

Remove, reserving 1 cup of the liquid for pureeing. Set cauliflower aside while you sauté the onion, shallots and garlic, seasoning as they get nice and soft. Then add the cooked cauliflower and let it get coated with that flavor.

Next step is to make it creamy. Place the mixture into a food processor and puree, adding a little of the reserved liquid as needed to get the consistency you want. Remember, you can always add but cannot take away, so go slowly to determine whether you want it chunky or super smooth. At this point, please taste and adjust your seasonings as you see fit. As I mentioned, since I had some leftover sautéd escarole, after I removed the mixture from the processor, I folded it in.

The mixture awaiting it's cheese partner.

Place the mixture into an oven proof baking dish that can also be used to serve. I bought the one pictured from Despaña. They have terra cotta cazuelas in a variety of sizes, and this one is perfect. Then comes the best part, the CHEESE. Did I say I like cheese? If you know me, you already knew that. Add the cheese into the entire mixture, plus sprinkle some on top. Bake at 350 until nice and bubbly.

Serve warm with crusty bread, endive or any other vegetable for dipping.

Here's to ringing in the New Year with Health & Wealth of heart, body and mind. May you reach for the stars, touch them and be electrified to do great things. May love and peace show up at your door each day. And may you know when to have faux creaminess and when it's absolutely necessary to have the real thing.

Thank you all for your support and onto new food bites in 2017!

Kale, Potato, Lentil, Cauliflower... Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup

October 6, 2016

This is a little story of what happens when I decide to pull everything out of my refrigerator and start cooking. Yesterday was just such a day, as the chill of autumn has descended upon us, I thought I would make soup. Since I had cauliflower I was figuring on making my old standby (and very first blog post) Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Alas, and I will say thankfully, I opted to go back to my roots of not repeating recipes too often but instead exploring new territories.

As I've said before, when I go shopping I buy what looks fresh without necessarily having a plan for how to cook them. Such was the case during last week's shop. As I took these ingredients out and placed them on my board, my first thought was to make separate dishes with each.

Here's what I found: Cauliflower, Kale, French Lentils, Fingerling Potatoes, Red Onion and Garlic

And because the original plan was individual dishes and use the cauliflower for soup, that soup idea grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go. It was just then when the it dawned on me that EVERYTHING I had could indeed be SOUP. Now here's the triple play of culinary delights:
I didn't have to make separate dishes.
I was still sticking to my original idea of soup.
Plus the big bonus of throwing it all together... ONE POT!

I had to think this one through to make sure that I cooked this one in the correct stages without having to switch pots. Also fair warning for this recipe, I won't be giving amounts as this one really harkens back to my something from nothing style. Use what you have in the quantities you have.

ingredients

Cauliflower
Kale (chopped)
French Lentils
Fingerling Potatoes (cut in bite size pieces)
Red onion (cut in small pieces)
Garlic
Magic 3 (Oil, Salt, Pepper)

Instructions

I started out as if I were making the cauliflower soup (click on the link for recipe reference) but cut the onions small since these were not going to be blended up but in fact be a supporting player in the soup.

When the cauliflower was about cooked about ¾ done, I added the potatoes pieces and lentils.

Once everything was tender, I pulled out about half of the cauliflower because I didn’t think the soup needed that much cauliflower. I figured I would blend up the removed portion and still have faux creamy cauliflower soup. Then I realized that adding some of that back into this soup would add thickness and richness. (But by that time I ate some I only had about 2/3 cup to add to the main soup. Add as much or as little as you want to achieve a 'creaminess' level of your liking.)

I then added the kale, checked for seasoning and turned the heat off. The soup is warm enough at this point to wilt the kale.

This came out hearty and earthy and a really lovely blend of a handful of odd and ends from my fridge. So, let’s recap. You can follow this recipe as I stated. Or you can look through your kitchen and create a soup out of what you have. Here are some ideas for replacement options for the ones I used.

other potential leading characters

Kale = spinach, escarole, mustard greens
Cauliflower = broccoli, cabbage
Potato = sweet potato, turnip, yucca
Lentil = chick peas, cannellini beans

Well, you get the idea. Try my version or play around with any of the above suggestions to make your own version of the “Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup”. Falling into the crispness of this season isn’t so bad when you can be warmed by a soup like this.

Footnote: As you can see this made a nice big pot of soup which left enough for the next day. I made jasmine rice and added it to the day old soup. Yup, it made it even yummier.

"Faux Creamy" Cauliflower Soup

February 21, 2016

Cauliflower soup with crispy cauliflower florets and drizzle of olive oil

Seriously, this is one of the easiest soups EVER!, yet it continues to ‘ohh and ahh’ our guests, and my mom, too. Whenever they ask how I make it, I almost feel guilty about its simplicity. Then I notice that they are barely listening because they are too entranced in licking the bowl.

So even though this is a super easy recipe, I decided to christen this blog with my first post dedicated to my mom, who is one of my culinary inspirations.

She has been cooking and baking up a storm, inspiring me and guiding me to this day. She has been begging me for my "creamy" cauliflower soup recipe. But first a little cruciferous family history...

When I was a kid my mom made cauliflower with an Italian spin to it, but also one that she knew as kids we would eat. She would trim off all the leaves and take the toughest part of the core out, then boiled the entire head in tact until fork tender. In a separate small saucepan, she melted butter and stirred in bread crumbs until they were all coated with butter. Like a mad scientist with a fresh brain (well, as least that’s what it looked like to me as a young budding cook), she took this mixture and jammed it onto the top of the cauliflower head as if giving it a brown derby. I have to admit, this method was ingenious because we all fought for a hunk; coveting the parts that had the most breadcrumb covering. It was delicious, and she got us to eat cauliflower! Brava to my mom. Then and now, she is my guiding light.

In these health conscious times, some of us look to foods that have less fat and carbs. Which leads me back to the easiest soup ever. One cold winter day a few years back, I wanted something warm and comforting. Since my husband has eliminated dairy and I eliminated wheat, we needed something that would fit our restrictions. I opened the frig and all I found was cauliflower. Well, you can certainly make soup with that!

Here’s how it goes. (I warn you, you will read it and say, ‘Is she kidding? It’s THAT easy.)

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, broken up
just so it fits in pot (size not important)
olive oil (approx. ¼ c)
2 medium onions, cut in quarters
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
salt
black pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

In a medium stock pot pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Add onions and garlic and sauté until lightly caramelized. Add salt, pepper and cauliflower and stir. Add enough water to cover most of the cauliflower then cover and lower heat to simmer. Cook until the cauliflower is super soft.

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove cauliflower and place in a blender. You probably won’t be able to get all of it in, so do it in batches, remembering to get all the onions and garlic pieces too. Add some of the water to get the blender going. Please note: be sure to vent the lid to let the steam escape as you slowly blend.

One of the versatile aspects of this soup is that you can add as much water as you like to reach the consistency you want. The more water, the more blending the thinner, smoother your soup will be. If you prefer it chunkier and thicker, less water, less blending. You get it. You will definitely not need all the water because that would be way too much and completely water down the soup. You can reserve it and use it for the base of another soup, or use it as a base for a sauce for pasta.

That’s it. Once all the soup is blended to your liking, taste to see if you need more salt or pepper. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

fancy it up Variations

But there's more. You can enhance it a bunch of different ways with flavorful toppings.

Oh, the possibilities: Grilled shrimp, caramelized shallots, roasted cauliflower, crispy Serrano

Vegetarian Toppings:

Roasted Cauliflower Florets: Reserve some florets before adding to the stock pot. Roast these with some olive oil, salt and pepper at 425 degrees. Once nice and crispy, drop them on top your soup.
Caramelized onions or shallots, a nice topping in the center. I have also used both the onions and roasted cauliflower.
Oven Roasted tomatoes: adds a sweet note to the soup
Nuts: Toast some pinnoli (pine) nuts and sprinkle on top.

With crispy shallots and a drizzle of olive oil

For less vegetarian options:

Grilled Shrimp: Grill or sautee some shrimp. Cut into bites size pieces and adorn the soup.

with grilled shrimp and olive oil drizzle

For serious meat lovers:

Crispy Ham: Using prosciutto, Serrano ham or bacon. Roast until super crispy. Crumble and sprinkle like you were in hog heaven. If you love Serrano ham, please visit Despaña for an amazing variety of hams, dry cured meats and so much more delicious Spanish fine foods.

Serrano ham to oven roast. You can use prosciutto, too.

As you can see, it’s limitless. Please try this soup. Try your own topping ideas and let me know how it turns out.

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