Cauliflower & gorgonzola soup with pear relish

I mentioned few days ago that I had a soup crisis and did not eat the soups for weeks until I have finally found inspiring recipes. There was a recipe that really impressed me and I wanted to make this soup as soon as possible. It is a recipe for a cauliflower soup that I have found in Good Food, October 2010 issue (I have made few alterations). Very unusual, very good for Autumn, very comforting and pear relish takes it to a very exciting new level. I hope it will interest you too and you are going to make it. It is definitely worth it.


Soup

Serves 4


1 medium cauliflower
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 small yellow onions, peeled and diced
few thyme springs
bay leaf
1 l vegetable stock
200g gorgonzola
2 tbsp crème fraîche
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Remove the outer leaves from cauliflower and cut into florets, saving the stalk and chopping it into pieces.

Melt the butter in a pan add the onions and fry until translucent and soft. Add cauliflower, thyme, bay leaf, stock, little salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the cauliflower is soft.

Remove bay leaf, crumble in gorgonzola, add and stir to combine. When the cheese is melted whizz the sup until perfectly smooth. Reheat gently.


Pear relish

2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tbsp currants
2 firm pears
1 firm apple
75ml cider or red wine vinegar
2 tbsp caster sugar
tbsp picked thyme leaves
half tsp ground cinnamon

Soak cranberries and currants in little warm water for about 10 minutes and drain.

Core and dice pears and apples, leave them unpeeled.

Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat, add the diced fruit and cook for 5 minutes. Next add all the remaining ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes. The relish should be shiny and slightly translucent. It did not work with mine and I was afraid of overcooking the pears and apples so I drained them. I added 2 tbsp caster sugar to the pan and left it until it turned to caramel. Next I added the drained fruit and left it to caramelised a bit.

You can keep the relish in a covered bowl in the fridge for a week.

Serve a soup with a little warm relish in the centre, sprinkled with some pepper and fresh thyme.

Food heaven.