The BEST Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Discovering Caribbean Cuisine in Sydney + 9 Things To Cook This Week + All Good Things
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New This Week »
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
I love a creamy soup. But, I don’t love it when it is packed with cream and cheese. Not only does it feel heavy, but it also takes away from the flavour of the hero vegetable/s.
The secret to a creamy soup that is as smooth and luscious as silk is to roast the vegetable to caramelized perfection. When it cuts like butter, it will blend like silk.
Back when I first started making this soup, my second born was 3 and the older boy was 7. The first time I presented them with this soup, my secondborn took a mouthful and swallowed it with a grimace. With the unwavering tact of a toddler, he scrunched up his face and said “YUCK!” in disgust.
It hurt my feelings.
Even when I test recipes, they are always edible and delicious. They might not be “perfect” but they work and never usually see the inside of a sink or bin.
“Yuck!” was a tad too harsh, I thought. Especially because the rest of us (including the older boy) loved it and licked our bowls clean. I chalked it up to underdeveloped tastebuds and vowed to keep presenting this soup to him every few weeks to help him get to the “Yum!” stage.
It happened approximately 3 years later. At the age of 6, he developed a massive crush on roasted cauliflower and quite specifically - Roasted Cauliflower Sauce that I made to serve our seared scallops on, every Christmas dinner. And so, due to natural progression, he also fell in love with this Roasted Cauliflower Soup.
In hindsight, the earlier iterations were not always as smooth. But because this has been made religiously for the past decade, it has evolved into a truly gorgeous creamy soup that will never fail you. And that too, without the addition of cream.
Luscious, light as a cloud and velvet on your palate. I hope you try it and love it!
New Discovery
Caribbean Cuisine!
Dined at Rosie Campbell’s in Sydney and discovered Jerk Chicken and Jamaican Curry. It is a great space with an amazing vibe and really good service. We had a wonderful evening there.
When I saw Scotch Bonnet (also known as Bonney pepper, a spicy chilli native to the Caribbean and West Africa) in the dish descriptions on the menu, I asked our server if it was spicy. She assured me it was very spicy and that if I was averse to spice, I should avoid those dishes.
I am not. And I didn’t. I was very excited to try a new “spice” flavour.
I love my chillies. I grew up on the spicy little firecracker green Indian chilli. I’ve had a love affair with the Thai bird's eye chilli for the better part of the last two decades. Jalapenos are a constant in my kitchen and so are the regular green and red Cayenne peppers. They are added to everything - from my morning Chilli Omelette to salads, stir-fries and curries. And if I spot Poblano Chillies, I buy them by the kilo! Habaneros are slightly spicier and hard to come by so I don’t usually buy them.
When the dishes arrived and I tasted them, they felt a tad mild to me. One of them was not at all spicy while the other had a lingering heat. Googling “Scotch Bonnet” from the restaurant revealed that they had a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville units (on the Scoville Heat Scale). Which is the same as Habanero. And that is quite spicy. So I concluded that the dishes were perhaps not authentically Jamaican, and created more for the Western palate.
They were all delicious though and intrigued me enough to order some Jerk seasoning, some Scotch Bonnet sauce and whole allspice to create my own Jamaican curry powder. The highlight for me was the Curried Jackfruit Patty. It was a flavour bomb! And I am very excited to experiment and recreate it in the coming weeks.
What To Cook This Week
School and uni are back in full swing at ours. Maybe they are at yours too? These are some great things to cook this week that are perfect for people on the move!
Zucchini Slice - A really good savoury slice. Lovely with chutney and greens. Doubles up as burger filling too.
Peanut Butter & Choc Powerballs - Tastes a bit like Oreos but is clean and healthier - coconut, almond, choc, maple. Yum!
Flapjacks - 4 Ingredients. Mix, spread, bake. Let’s go!
Beetroot Quinoa Burgers - Holy Moly! My favourite thing to eat while working. These can be made ahead and are a lifesaver when you find them in the fridge. Smooshed in between a nice brioche bun or pita bread or Turkish bread with smashed avo, cucumber, mustard, pickled onion, crisp lettuce and sometimes kimchi!
Thai Green Curry Fishcakes - The most delicious Thai fish cakes. Nice little working lunch or great in lunchboxes. I send these wrapped in baking paper & foil to keep warm. I pack Cos lettuce leaves and sliced cucumber separately and they roll it all up and eat like a sandwich.
Berry & Choc Muffins - Lunchbox gold! Also, a good dessert warmed up and topped with ice cream. Yum!
Happy Smoothies - Serotonin-boosting smoothie packed with mood-enhancing ingredients - banana, cacao, cinnamon and almond. I boost this with protein powder and soy milk for that protein-loving afternoon pick-me-up for both me and the boys. Great if your kids do sport! Highly nourishing and tastes like a chocolate milkshake.
Mango Lassi Chia Pudding - Mango Lassi flavour but in a delicious chia pudding version.
Best Veggie Muffins - Leek, spinach, carrot, spring onion, quinoa, spelt, oats, spices! A powerhouse and nourishing, compact lunch too!
More Cooking
Shared my everyday, go-to Mango Lassi recipe on Instagram recently. Do you know the secret to authentic, restaurant-style mango lassi? Watch the video »
Shaved Fruit Trend looks delicious! Also loving Radhi Devlukia’s Instagram feed. She is adorable!
Crispy Kale & Shiitake Mushroom Fried Rice
Orange, Olive Oil & Thyme Loaf Cake
Currently ..
Watching Silo | The Fall Of The House Of Usher | Slow Horses
For accountability - Still hitting 10k+ steps 6 out of 7 times a week. Doing my morning and evening stretches diligently and lifting weights 3-4 times a week to strengthen my upper back.
Loving - Vitamin C (has smoothed my face!) and Oribe Serum (has transformed my hair!)
Enjoying - A cup of cold matcha every day. Maybe it is a placebo, but I feel so energized after.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s musings from my kitchen. Until next week. Eat well, be well! Happy Cooking x
Love Slow Horses and love Oribe. Can hardly wait to try your Roasted Cauliflower soup! Yum. Thank u.