Roasted Cauliflower Soup and Mulled Apple Juice

Roasted Cauli Soup

A v simple tasty soup

Serves 4

2 small heads of cauliflower or 1 large,
2 small onions or 1 large
Olive oil
Big knob of butter, or keep it vegan and sub for 2 tbsps olive oi
Salt n pepper
Tbsp Paprika (you could also try other spices, cumin would be v.nice for example)
pinch chili flakes
1 litre stock – chicken or veg stock depending on preference
1 lemon

Optional garnish

1 onion
zest of one lemon
2 tbsp veg or olive oil
Salt

Method:
Heat oven to 220 degrees (200 degrees fan)
Break/chop the cauli into florets and place them into 1 large roasting tin in a single layer. You may need to use two tins/trays for this, as you don’t want to overcrowd the tin (if you do this the cauliflower will tend to steam rather than roast). Drizzle generously with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Toss with your hands to coat evenly
Roast until the cauliflower is nicely browned, You want the florets to start looking crispy in places, and even a bit charred in spots – it’s important for the flavour of the soup to get those brown/toasty bits.
Meanwhile, finely chop the onions. Heat a big knob of butter or 2 tbsps oil in a large saucepans. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and a pinch of chili flakes, and turn down the heat so that you can very gently fry the onions until super soft and starting to caramalise. This will take longer than you might think – around 15 mins. Once the onions are soft, add the roasted cauliflower to the pan, and toss them together.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for around 10 mins
Use a stick blender to blend the soup so that it as smooth as you can get it.
Grate in the zest of one lemon. Then squeeze in the juice.
If the soup looks too thick to your taste, you can add more stock or water here – it should be soup consistency, not like baby food!
Check the soup for seasoning – you may want to add more salt, pepper, chilli, lemon zest or lemon juice. Soup always needs more seasoning than you might think!

Optional garnish – crispy onions
Finely slice one onion into half moons. You want to slice as finely as you can.
Heat 2 tbsps veg oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot add the onion, and fry, stirring continuously till the onions are very brown and crispy. Season with salt, and the grated zest of one lemon.
Top each bowl of soup with a handful of onions and a drizzle of olive oil

Mulled Apple Juice

This recipe is totally flexible. All you need is apple juice and some warming spices. The below is a suggestion, but feel free to use whatever is in your cupboard – nutmeg, cardamom, dried ginger, pepper, thyme and lemon or orange zest or juice would also be very good

1 bottle cloudy apple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
2 star anise
Grated ginger – about a thumb sized peice
Couple of sprigs of rosemary

Place apple juice and all the spices into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 mins until all the flavour have mingled. Pour into mugs or glasses and enjoy!