Cauliflower & Pear Soup
The combination of pear and cauliflower in this soup is so good. The slight sweetness from the pear really lifts things up on the creaminess of the cauliflower. This recipe is plant-based with oat milk. If you don’t want to use oat milk, regular is fine as is coconut milk. This recipe calls for the cauliflower leaves to be used but if your cauliflower doesn’t have leaves on it you can use a little baby spinach instead and saute that briefly.
This recipe was made in collaboration with Chef Tom Walton!
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, leaves reserved
1/3 cup pepita seeds, toasted
3 tbsp olive oil + extra for cooking
1 brown onion, roughly diced
3 clove garlic, sliced
2 ripe William Pears, peeled and cored
1L vegetable stock
250ml oat milk
2 cups cooked pearl barley
Handful coriander leaves
Handful mint leaves
1 lemon
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Method
Preheat an oven to 220C
Remove the leaves form the cauliflower, wash well, roughly chop and set aside.
Roughly chop the whole cauliflower, reserving large handful of small florets. Toss these in a bowl with the pepita seeds, 1 tbsp of olive oil, lightly season and scatter over a lined baking tray.
Roast these in the oven for 6 minutes to become lightly golden then allow to cool on the tray
Place the remaining oil in a large saucepan along with the onion, garlic, chopped cauliflower, pear & a generous seasoning with salt and pepper.
Cook, covered, over a medium/high heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes to let everything begin to break down then add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Cover again, turn down and simmer for another 5 minutes then add the oat milk and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Blend the soup until smooth then season to taste and keep hot.
Sauté the cauliflower leaves in a frying pan with a little olive oil and seasoning until wilted then squeeze over a little lemon place this into a mixing bowl.
Roughly chop the herbs and combine them with the cooked cauliflower leaves, roast cauliflower, pepita seeds & pearl barley.
Season this salad to taste and dress with a splash of lemon and olive oil.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the pearl barley salad.
Recipe source: A Better Choice
