runny nose soup

If there’s one thing that is more satisfying than good cooking - and there is one thing - it’s good eating. So when something really works well in my kitchen I think to myself, “I gotta share this”.  

“This” could be a signature dish in my own restaurant, where I could spend every day making people fat and happy.  I’d be a hero in their eyes and a pillar of the community for the way I feed them.  People would approach me in public places and shake my hand because they had tried my creamy curry cauliflower soup and it changed their life, or at least their lunch.  

Guy Fieri would visit with his camera crew and give me a hug and say my pork chops served with a medley of pineapple, onions, grape tomatoes and black olives lightly oiled and grilled together over a real fire are “off the hook”.  

My spicy chinese cucumbers are hot and refreshing at the same time.  My simple grilled cheese sandwiches with fresh tomato (in season) are a perfect compliment to almost any soup.  I make a pretty good pot of chili.  Pork carnitas are a specialty of mine.

I think, at some point, everyone has a fantasy of owning their own restaurant where the food would be fabulous and the atmosphere fun and it would be like having people pay you to come to a party every day.  There’s a lot of satisfaction in serving people well, and to do it profitably would be a nice way to make a living.  

But then you realize how much work it really is to run a restaurant: the staffing, the cleaning, the health department regulations, payroll and insurance and accounting and marketing and all the other stuff that takes you away from the dream kitchen and from glad-handing the customers. Unless you’re really committed, a restaurant is a better thing to patronize than it is to own.  

So here you go . . .  because I have chosen to not be in the food business, I’m happy to share, for free, the recipe for the above-mentioned creamy curry cauliflower soup.   It's warm and smoooooth and has just enough spice to make your nose run a little bit.  Serve this to your friends and you'll be the hero I described above.   

Bon Apetit and you’re welcome.

Runny Nose Soup

Creamy and Smooth Curried Cauliflower

- It’s the color of snot and has just enough spice to make your nose run

• 2 heads cauliflower

• 6T vegetable oil

• 2t salt

• 1 stick butter

• 1.5 large onions (yellow) chopped small

• 3t minced garlic

• 1-2 large carrots, grated

• ½ t ground cayenne pepper

• 4-5t garam masala

• 1t ground turmeric

• 1-2Q chicken stock

• 2C heavy whipping cream

• 1 bunch fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F / 230C

2. Break cauliflower into bite-sized pieces, toss with oil and salt.  Spread on foiled baking sheet and roast in 450 oven 30-35 minutes until cauliflower edges char.  

3. Chop the onion into fairly small pieces. Grate carrots.

4. In a soup pot, melt at least half a stick of butter (more is better) and sautee onions until soft - 5 minutes or so. Then add garlic and cook another 2 minutes.  Then add carrots and cook another 2 minutes.  Add more butter if it gets too dry.  

5. Add spices (cayenne, garam masala, turmeric) and cook 5 minutes, stirring most of the time.  This will be very fragrant and the mixture will become dry.  You may wish to add a small amount of chicken stock to deglaze and prevent burning.  

6. Add roasted cauliflower and chicken stock (1.5Q) to pot, give it a good stir, cover, bring to boiling.

7. Remove cover and simmer 10-15 minutes.

8. Use blender (Immersion or regular-style) to puree entire mixture.

9. stir in cream and let it sit for a few minutes for flavors to meld

10. Garnish with parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

download recipe pdf