Deliciously thick and creamy soup, you’ll swear there is a pot of double cream in this but there certainly isn’t! No waste here either. The whole cauliflower gets used, leaves and all. This recipe makes 2 portions so more for lunch tomorrow, or freeze to keep for a quick lunch/dinner.

Ingredients

• Onion, 1 red or white, chopped
• Garlic, 2 gloves, chopped
• Cauliflower + cauli leaves, 1 whole head, chopped, leaves separate
• Butter beans, 1 400g tin, drained
• Vegetable stock cube, dissolved in 300ml of water
• Salt and pepper

Recipe

Heat a little oil in a large saucepan on a low-medium heat. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and stew them until they are soft (approx 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Next add the cauliflower into the saucepan (set leaves aside), and top the pan up with the stock water. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beans to the pan and then turn the heat up so the water starts to boil. Bring the water down to simmer, and cover until the cauliflower is soft. This can take up to 30 minutes depending on how big/small the cauliflower is chopped.

To test that the cauliflower is cooked through, you should be able to easily slice through it with a wooden spoon/spatula. Now it is blending time! If you have a hand-held blender, that is ideal and you can blend the ingredients as they are in the plan. I don’t actually have a hand blender so I had to spoon the veggies and water out into my blender and then back in to the pan! Blitz until it is smooth and creamy, then return to the heat. Simmer at a low-medium heat until you are happy with the consistency. The longer you leave it the thicker it will be (or you may just be very hungry :D)

Whilst the soup thickens, heat a little oil or butter in a pan and add the cauliflower leaves. Saute until the leaves turn bright green and the thicker stalks are soft (approx 10 minutes).

Serve the soup piping hot, topped with cauliflower leaves for a peppery crunchy topping.

Well done you! Now sit down and enjoy 🙂