Roche Dry from Egg Designs, one of the creative brains behind the interiors at Durban restaurant Craft, loves using cauliflower as an ingredient, as it’s a “quiet, old-fashioned, unpretentious” vegetable.
“This is a really simple, quick recipe,” she says. “The wow factor in both taste and presentation is the addition of pancetta, Gorgonzola and truffle oil.”
Give this recipe a colour kick by serving it in a yellow soup bowl by Clementina van der Walt, pictured above (R340).
Ingredients:
• 1 large cauliflower, chopped hard stems included
• 1 large potato, cut into small cubes
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 large leek, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 5 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 litres good-quality chicken stock
• 125ml cream
• 6 thin slices of pancetta
• 50g Gorgonzola, at room temperature
• A few drops of truffle oil
Method:
Sweat the potato, celery, leek, garlic and thyme in the olive oil for 15 minutes (you don’t want the veggies to brown, so sweat on low heat). Add the cauliflower and stock, and simmer for 30 minutes. When the cauliflower is tender, remove all contents of the pot, including stock, and blend till smooth. (If you want to be all “master cheffie”, you can press the contents through a drum sieve to get a very smooth consistency. I quite like the grainy texture, so I don’t go to this trouble.)
Pour the contents back into the pot and add cream. Don’t boil at this stage as the cream will split. Add salt and white pepper to taste. (Go easy on the salt as the pancetta and Gorgonzola will add saltiness.) Meanwhile, grill the pancetta slices until crisp. To keep the pancetta slices straight, you can grill them between two baking trays lined with baking paper.
Serve the soup garnished with the pancetta. Crumble the Gorgonzola over the top and add 1-2 drops of truffle oil. The truffle oil adds an amazing aroma and the globules of yellow oil add to the presentation.
