Moroccan spiced cauliflower & almond soup.

BBC Good Food website

This is really very good indeed but I made a few twists which I think improved it. This is a very filing soup.

For 4 smallish servings

 

A medium cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and one of cumin seeds

1 scant teaspoon rose harissa

100cl good stock

50g split almonds

25g pine nuts

Coriander leaves

Greek yoghurt

Home made spiced sherry (optional, and if you don’t already make it, do so immediately!)

 

Cut the cauli into florets; put two aside for garnish. Toss the nuts with the cumin seeds and a big pinch of sea salt in a frying pan till browned.  If you burn them, they go into the bin and you do it again as they will make everything bitter.  Unless you use a big pan, it will be easier to do it in two batches.  Put aside about a sixth for garnish.  Preheat a deep frying pan and dry roast the spices for a couple of minutes, adding plenty of ground pepper.  Add the oil and the harissa and fry for a minute or so, then add the cauliflower and toss so that the florets are coloured with the spice. Add the stock, a little salt and half a small glass of the sherry.  Simmer till the cauliflower is soft.  Pour into a food processor and blitz till very smooth.  You may need to add a glass or two of water to get it to the consistency that you prefer though it should be quite thick.  Put it back into the pan.  Taste for salt and season. 

Cut the remaining cauliflower into the tiniest of florets.  They should be no bigger than a pea, and preferably smaller, but don’t chop the poor little things.  Reheat the soup very gently; it will behave like a boiling mud pool and throw blobs all over your kitchen if it is too hot, unwatched and unstirred.

Pour into bowls.  Put a ring of bits of cauliflower round the edge.  A big neatish pinch of coriander leaves goes into the middle next, and then scatter the salted nuts as evenly as you can.  Finally, with two teaspoons, place a tidy blob of yoghurt on top.  If you can be bothered, and the harissa has plenty of oil on the top, sprinkle a few drops around the middle.

The recipe only uses the nuts and looks frankly, very beige.  We had it as a supper but the flavour is good enough to serve at a dinner party, but a tiny potion as it is surprisingly rich.  I have no idea how you would garnish it in a coffee cup; please do let me know!