Caramelised cauliflower soup

LONG before Prof Tim Noakes opened South African eyes to a diet that replaces starches such as pizza and mashed potatoes with cauliflower, creative cooks soared beyond cauliflower and cheese.

This recipe for caramelised cauliflower soup, for example, is from Sara Forte's health-food inclined cookery book, The Sprouted Kitchen,  published in 2012. It contains 100 recipes ranging from breakfast and salads to snacks.

"This is a delightfully textured soup. If you want more richness, replace some of the broth with cream and dress it up with cheese or browned butter. If you halve the broth, you get a nice puree to use as an alternative to mashed potatoes," says Forte on her website, www.sproutedkitchen.com

The recipe serves four. She says the crusty edges and nutty taste of roasted cauliflower give the soup a quite different taste from that of steamed cauliflower.

Sports scientist Noakes advocates cutting out starches in favour of a low-carb, high-fat way of eating. He co-wrote the popular South African book, The Real Meal Revolution, which contains recipes such as cauliflower mash, cauliflower pizza base and cauliflower rice.

Although Forte serves this soup topped with hazelnuts and bread, Banting diet exponents can switch over to crispy fried bacon or grated biltong as a topping. She also uses broth as the liquid, but says you can use milk or cream, which are also Banting friendly.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large cauliflower, of about 1.3kg

Extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Salt and black pepper

For the broth:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

750ml vegetable stock

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

For the topping:

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

50g bread, torn into 2.5cm pieces

Black pepper

60g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Fresh thyme leaves

Shaved parmesan (optional)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh nutmeg and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper, and toss everything to coat.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the florets are fully roasted and you see a good amount of brown edges. Remove and cool.

Start the broth while the cauliflower is roasting. Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes to soften. Add the stock, thyme and vinegar and warm through.

When the cauliflower is cool to touch, add it to the broth and blend until smooth. Season to taste. Return to the pan to keep warm.

For the croutons, heat the remaining oil in a small pan, add the torn bread and a pinch of ground pepper and stir for 5-8 minutes until crisp with browned edges.

Serve each portion with a few croutons, chopped hazelnuts, a pinch of fresh thyme leaves and some shaved parmesan, if preferred.

• Recipe by Sara Forte,