French Fridays with Dorie: Creamy Cauliflower Soup Sans Cream

This time of year, my Calphalon dutch oven stays out on top of the stove so it is always ready for stews, sauces and soups -- like this week's Creamy Cauliflower Soup. After a 20-minute saute of onions, garlic, celery and thyme, the florets from a head of cauliflower and six cups of chicken broth join in for an additional 20 minutes of simmering. The soup is finished with a quick puree in the Vitamix and served with a choice of various embellishments.  Dorie suggests a drizzle of extra-virgin olive or walnut oil, grated cheese, crushed toasted walnuts, crème fraîche or sour cream, caviar, and/or shaved truffles as optional toppings. I really wanted to go with her bonne idée and turn this into Cauliflower-Mussel Soup, but was too lazy to go hunt down mussels on the way home.

Inspired by a recipe for roasted cauliflower with gremolata (a chopped herb condiment typically made of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley), I decided gremolata would make a pretty topping for my soup. I zested a lemon and then took it up a notch by frying parsley leaves and thinly sliced garlic "chips" in peanut oil.  A drizzle of olive oil, piece of crusty bread, and glass of wine sealed the deal.

Cauliflower Soup with Fried Gremolata Garnish

My plating inspiration came from Chef Jason Knibb of Nine-Ten, La Jolla, who was one of the celebrity chefs at this year's Gingerbread City Gala at The Grand Del Mar. I was there to photograph the chefs' dishes and some of the magnificent gingerbread structures. I happened to bring along a few of my favorite bowls in case one of the chefs wanted to do a special plating for the camera, and was thrilled when Jason decided to use one of them for his Chino Farms Pumpkin Soup with Ginger Croquette. I loved how he scattered the garnish around the rim.  Now, just picture Dorie's Cauliflower Soup (adapted to include a touch of cream), my fried gremolata, and a Mussel Croquette or two floating about...!

Plating Inspiration: Chino Farms Pumpkin Soup

Dorie's Creamy Cauliflower Soup was amazingly smooth and 'creamy' without any cream, but toppings are a definite must for added pizazz, flavor and texture. Next time, I may give in to the urge to slip in some cream and/or milk in place of one or more cups of the chicken broth. I do enjoy the richness of a little cream, and may be a bit spoiled after experiencing Thomas Keller's Cream of Cauliflower Soup (Ad Hoc at Home). Keller uses twice as much cauliflower for the same quantity of liquid. Instead of chicken broth, he uses 2 cups milk, 2 cups heavy cream, and 2 cups water; garnishes are beet chips and torn garlic croutons.

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French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!