Creamy Cauliflower Soup

This visually delightful soup has a slightly sweet flavour as a result of gently sweating shallots and cauliflower.

Servings: 4 people

40 ml neutral oil
135 g shallots
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic
475 g cauliflower, white parts only (florets and stalk, only the very palest leaves)
110 g celeriac (peeled weight)
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
475 ml unsweetened almond milk (for blending)
1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt (or sweet white miso, but you will need more than you would need salt)

Peel and finely slice the shallots. Break the cauliflower into even florets 1.5cm wide; chop the stalks and any leaves into 1cm pieces. Prepare a bowl big enough for the celeriac, fill ⅔ with water & a squeeze of lemon juice. Chop the celeriac into 1cm pieces and store in the lemon water until ready to use
Heat the oil over low heat in a large lidded saucepan. Gently sweat the shallots for around 10 mins over low heat, until soft and transparent. Partially cover pan; stir regularly. Do not allow to brown or the soup colour will be spoiled
Add garlic, cauliflower & whole thyme sprigs to the pan and stir. Drain the celeriac well and stir in. Continue to sweat everything, stirring, for 5-10 mins – again, do not allow to brown
Add the bay leaf, almond milk and water for cooking. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover and simmer gently until the cauliflower is very tender, probably around 15 mins. Allow to cool until warm, not hot
Remove the herbs. Blend the soup. You may need to do this in batches. Add more milk as needed, up to the amount specified in the recipe. Too much and the flatter almond milk flavour will dominate, detracting from the sweet cauliflower/shallot notes
Taste. It should have a creamy, slightly sweet flavour. Season with salt or miso; do not over-salt

Allergen information: nuts, soya if using miso to season.

Recipe by Clare Parkholm, CNM Natural Chef

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