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Sunday 27 September 2015

Cauliflower, Pear and Blue Cheese Soup ... Perfect for Autumn Days


"This creamy soup is a wonderful combination of flavours, and the salty-sweet walnuts sprinkled over at the end complement them perfectly," ...and so say all of us!


This soup is just perfect on a day when you may have enjoyed an Autumn walk, where the trees and countryside are looking magnificent, and a showcase of fantastic colour.

image courtesy of google

Time spent in the kitchen on your return will be so worth it as you sit and enjoy the taste of this lovely soup. It is 18.5 g carbs per serving, and I just have a bowl of soup ... no crusty bread with it ... but of course you may choose otherwise! The recipe does contain nuts so if you have an allergy - please be aware. 

"Preparation time:15 minutes to 20 minutes
Cooking time:25 minutes

Serves: 4


Ingredients:
25g butter
6 shallots, diced
1 stick celery, finely chopped
2 Conference pears, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 cauliflower, broken into florets (about 500g)
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tbsp crème fraîche
100g British blue cheese, roughly chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish

For the walnuts
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
50g Walnuts, roughly chopped 

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. For the walnuts, place the sea salt and sugar in a pestle and mortar and pound into a powder. Place the walnuts on a baking tray, sprinkle over the powdered salt and sugar and toss well until evenly coated. Roast for 5–7 minutes until golden then remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

2 For the soup, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and celery and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Stir in the pears and cauliflower, toss together well then pour over the stock. Simmer for 15–20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.

3 Stir in the crème fraîche, most of the blue cheese (reserve a little for garnish) and parsley. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Blend the mixture until smooth.

4 Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the walnuts, reserved blue cheese, extra parsley and a little ground black pepper. Delicious served with crusty bread ... optional.

COOK'S TIP:
To make ahead: prepare the walnuts up to a week in advance and
store in an airtight container. Prepare the soup to the end of step 3, leaving out the crème fraîche. Pour into a rigid, freezer-proof container and leave to cool completely. Freeze for up to one month. To serve, defrost.

Nutritional Info:
Typical values per serving:
Energy 1,587kj
382kcals
Fat 27.9g
Saturated Fat 12.7g
Carbohydrate 18.5g
Sugars 15g
Protein 14.1g
Salt 1.6g
Fibre .1g "

Original Recipe Idea Here

Hope you agree ... such a lovely taste.

All the best Jan

11 comments:

Jo said...

Those flavours are ones I'd never put together, I wonder who first thinks to try things. I'm just not adventurous in the kitchen at all.

eileeninmd said...

Sounds like a delicious soup, I like the ingredients. Pretty Autumn image. Happy Sunday, enjoy your new week ahead!

Nikki (Sarah) said...

I love Fall and everything about it. Have an amazing Sunday Jan and buddies.

DeniseinVA said...

Hubby and I are a lover of soups and make many during the colder months. This one looks delicious and is on our list. Thanks Jan :) I make a few in the crockpot and there is nothing like coming home after a walk in the woods to that wonderful aroma of soup.

Lowcarb team member said...

Jo
We often have cauliflower cheese ...
We often have a few slices of pear with Stilton ...
So when I first saw this idea I thought - what a good idea.

I always enjoy watching cooking programmes and those brilliant chefs who 'think outside the box' as the saying goes, and combine great flavours.

Hope you are having a pleasant Sunday evening, have a happy week next week.

All the best Jan

Lowcarb team member said...

Eileen
I couldn't resist that lovely Autumn image.
I couldn't resist sharing this tasty soup with readers too!

Hope you've had an enjoyable weekend - have a happy week next week.

All the best Jan

Lowcarb team member said...

Nikki (Sarah)
The Fall (Autumn) is an amazing season isn't it - the colours are just wonderful.
I do hope you've had a good Sunday ... and all good wishes for the week ahead, from me and the low carb team.

All the best Jan

Lowcarb team member said...

Denise
Thank you for your comment.
How wonderful to make soup in your crockpot, I bet the aroma is wonderful ... I can smell it from here LOL!

Seriously, you can't beat a lovely soup in the cooler days can you.

I wish you a a good week next week.

All the best Jan

Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes said...

I can almost taste that soup - pears, blue cheese and shallots? Sounds heavenly!

Lowcarb team member said...

Amy
Many thanks for your comment.This is a great mix of flavours ... something a little different!

Hope you have a good week ahead.

All the best Jan

baili said...

this is amazing soup indeed though any kind of soup involving veggies will be my favorite :)
oh this fall view is stunning!