![Cream of Cauliflower Soup]()
by Yvonne Maffei | May 31, 2015 | Soups
This Spring started out rainy, then became the season I hoped it would be- beautiful fresh air throughout the day without a cloud in the skies, dew drops on the leaves in the morning, songbirds singing cheerfully, and new life appearing everywhere.
Sounds like something out of the Little House on the Prairie, right?
Well, that idyllic Spring season took a blustery turn this weekend and we spent it dodging winds, rain and what felt like dreary Fall days. I thought I’d be making pea soup by now, not something a little creamier and heartier, but this recipe for Cream of Cauliflower Soup came in handy. I hope you’ll like it, and enjoy it on much warmer days than we’ve been experiencing. It’s easy to make and super delicious, especially if you like soups as a hearty part of your meals.
I started out with a few simple ingredients- of course one head of cauliflower,
which is about 2 pounds (2 1/2 pounds with the stem attached)
2 cups of Saffron Road’s Classic Culinary Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (a halal-certified product), 2 cups whole milk, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil and butter.
Like most delicious things, this soup starts off with the lovely mixture of olive oil and butter. Then, once the butter froths (which protects the olive oil from heating too high and being ruined), add in the onions and garlic. Once those have softened, the cauliflower is added.
Let those cook for a few minutes to brown and soften, then add in the vegetable broth.
*NOTE ABOUT THE BROTH IN THIS RECIPE: It seems as though the Saffron Road halal chicken and other broths are not available, so you can replace it with an organic vegetarian broth like this one for this recipe.
It’s such a deep and beautiful dark color, which means they’ve taken great care to slow cook the vegetables and make a true broth.
Next, the cauliflower should cook on low for about 20-25 minutes to completely soften them. After that time, the soup should be pureed with a hand mixer directly in the pan (though off the heat), or in a blender after the mixture has cooled.
It can be rewarmed in a pan before serving. I like to add freshly chopped parsley, though on a blistery day like yesterday when my kitchen garden is not right outside my doorstep, the dried parsley was the next best thing.
What’s your favorite vegetable to use in a creamy style soup?
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![Oven Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Apr 25, 2014 | Dinner, Eid, Greek, Lamb, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
A few years ago when I catered my sister in law’s wedding rehearsal dinner, I discovered this type of lamb cut to be an essential part of entertaining on a grand scale. This leg of lamb doesn’t look too big, but at around 4 to 4.5 pounds, this cut can be grilled, roasted, slow cooked, or braised- then cut thinly to serve a very nice size crowd.
I get started with the few simple ingredients needed to achieve a very juicy, very delicious meal: one boneless leg of lamb (ask your butcher ahead of time for this cut, or order from a reliable halal source); one box of Saffron’ Road’s Classic Culinary Lamb Broth (it’s halal-certified), a couple sprigs each of fresh mint and fresh rosemary, some olive oil for drizzling, sea salt and about 20 cloves of fresh garlic.
Yes, I said 20 cloves of garlic.
Don’t worry, though. It’s not over-powering at all once it’s cooked thoroughly and melts into the meat and liquids in the pan.
It really does make a difference to use fresh herbs in this roast- for some reason, it’s just not the same to use dried. The pungency just isn’t there and it seems like the lamb simply absorbs the freshness in the most aromatic way.
Salt the meat first then stuff the garlic under the netting, if your roast comes with that netting.
If not, you can actually make slits in the meat or in the fat on top and stick the cloves inside.
Do the same with the fresh rosemary and mint.
Drizzle with olive oil and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
Now get out the Saffron Road Lamb Broth. You’re only going to use about one cup of it at first and then more during the cooking process. Yes, you could use water, but that doesn’t give the dish the deep and lovely flavor you’ll want to dip the cut pieces of lamb into upon serving. Trust me.
Just pour about one cup to the bottom of the roasting pan. It’s okay if you get some on the meat right now, but try not to otherwise you’ll hear a lot of splattering going on in the oven.
It should look a little like this at the bottom of the pan- the meat is not swimming in it, but it’s going to give the meat the moisture it needs to not dry out when roasting, especially since this recipe doesn’t call for covering it.
Preheat the oven to 425° F. You’ll roast it that way for about 20 minutes, then add another cup of lamb broth and reduce to the heat to 350°F and continue cooking for about three hours. Use a meat thermometer and put it deep into the meat’s middle to make sure it reads at least 165°. Pull it out and let it rest for ten minutes, covering the meat if you can, to retain it’s juices. If you cut it too early, it will let all of those juices out of the meat and you’ll end up with a dry roast after all.
Now you’ll have some juice at the bottom. You could make a gravy with it by placing the pan over a burner and adding some flour (remove the garlic and herb pieces first), then whisk vigorously until you reach a thick consistency. Personally, I just like to use this sauce as a jus, or dipping sauce.
At this point it almost looks like a pot roast.
If after cooking you find it too be a little too pink in the middle for your liking, place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so; alternatively you can slice it up and place in a microwave, covered with the juices at the bottom. This helps to finish off the middle without drying it out.
Don’t miss a single drop of the juice at the bottom- that’s where all the flavor has been dripping for hours and hours.
Slice it thinly and dip the pieces back into the sauce.
At my sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner, we served this up as an appetizer alongside a glamorously finished plat of hummus. Needless to say, because it was sliced so thinly and served with ease that way, the huge plates we served were absolutely gone at the end of the dinner. Of course for a family dinner, you will most likely want to serve it a little differently. I can’t imagine anything that goes better with this than a side of mashed potatoes, a baked potato or even oven-baked fries. But, I’ve been known to slice and eat this with nothing else at all…
Resources:
Saffron Road’s Classic Culinary Lamb Broth (antibiotic-free, vegetarian fed, pasture-raised. Find it in a store near you.
[yumprint-recipe id=’14’]
