ZOMBIE BRAINS ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

Who says you’re too old to play with your food?
This roasted cauliflower soup is a guaranteed crowd pleaser with its variety of textures, crunchy toasted pecans, melt in your mouth Chanterelles, and creamy cauliflower puree. The nuttiness of the pecans, Chanterelles, and cauliflower pair nicely with La Crema Monterey Chardonnay emphasizing its vanilla notes.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

Author: Eden Hensley
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Californian
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 55 mins
Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large head cauliflower, about 1 1/2to 2 pounds, halved, cored, and cut into 1 1/2 inch florets
• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Sea salt to taste
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, mined
• 5 medium Fingerling potatoes, about 12 ounces, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
• 1/4 cup Pecans
• 3 Tablespoons butter**
• 6 to 12 ounces Chanterelle mushrooms, sliced**
• 1 cup Coconut milk (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place top rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
2. Toss cauliflower florets into a plastic storage bag. Add three Tablespoons olive oil, cumin, red pepper flakes, and pinch of sea salt. Close the top of the bag and shake to coat.
3. Spread cauliflower florets on a large rimmed baking sheet or large cake pan. Place in the oven and roast until just tender, about 25 minutes.
4. While the cauliflower roasts, warm a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the pan is warm, add a Tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell the garlic.
6. Add potato slices and vegetable broth to your sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potato and onion are completely soft and easily crushable against the side of the pan with a fork.
7. Add the roasted cauliflower and bay leaves to the pan. Simmer over medium heat until the cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes.
8. While the soup simmers, in a medium saute pan, toast the pecans, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, roughly chop, and set aside.
9. In the same medium saute pan you toasted the pecans, melt three Tablespoons butter. When the butter has melted add the chanterelles, cook until the chanterelles are soft and brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. **To make this dish vegan, replace the Chanterelle mushrooms with shiitake or crimini mushrooms and cook in olive oil. Chanterelles need butter to release their flavor.
10. When the cauliflower is very tender, remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. To surprise your guests with zombie brains, remove a few of the cauliflower florets and put aside until serving. If your sauce pan is not non-stick and you own an immersion blender, puree the soup in the sauce pan until smooth, about 5 minutes, If you do not have an immersion blender, let the soup cool slightly and then transfer the soup to a blender, working in small batches, and blend until all of the soup is smooth.
11. Rewarm the pureed soup over medium heat, slowly adding coconut milk until you reach the consistency you want.
12. To serve, garnish with fried chanterelles, pecans, and optionally a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

About the Wine:
La Crema Monterey Chardonnay – On the nose, Meyer Lemon, passionfruit, grilled pineapple and guava. Nectarine, papaya and crips lemon-tangerine notes are complimented by touch of spice and complexing minerality on the palate.

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