Recipe: Cauliflower Soup (Minestra di Cavalfiore)

CAULIFLOWER SOUP (MINESTRA DI CAVALFIORE)

"There's probably no sense in making this soup if you don't like cauliflower. As with so much Italian food, this recipe uses a few basic ingredients to showcase the star vegetable. A purist would even shudder at the cheese! Make this soup as garlicky and spicy as you like but be sure to serve lots of crusty Italian bread or bruschetta (toasted Italian bread brushed with olive oil). When I want a soup with a bit more texture, I remove 1 cup of the cooked cauliflower, puree it, and return it to the remaining soup"

1 large head cauliflower
2 quarts cold water
2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon tsp hot pepper flakes
3 cups hot meat broth
Salt to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
6 ounces freshly grated pecorino cheese (for serving)

Break the cauliflower florets into small (1/2 inch) pieces. Trim the stem end and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Wash the cauliflower in 2 quarts of cold water blended with 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Drain and drop into a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil for 4 minutes; drain and dry well.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot; add the garlic and hot pepper, and cook gently until the garlic is golden.

Add the cauliflower to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent it from browning.

Add the hot broth, salt and parsley and cook until the cauliflower is tender.

Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with a generous amount of cheese.

Makes 6 servings
Source: We Called It Macaroni: An American Heritage of Southern Italian Cooking by Nancy Verde Barr