Sweet potato, leek, cumin, saffron and cauliflower soup

Name: Sweet potato, leek, cumin, saffron and cauliflower soup
Yield: Serves 4–6
Ingredients: 1.2 litres vegetable stock; 1 bay leaf, torn in half; 1 large sweet potato (about 400 g), peeled and cut into chunks; 1 large slice of stale bread, crusts removed and the bread cut into cubes; 1 medium leek, sliced and well rinsed to remove any grit; 2 pinches of saffron; 3 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; chopped chives for garnish; ¼ cauliflower; 60 g butter

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Vegetables

By Peter Gordon

Published 2007

About

This soup is very earthy in its flavours, with the saffron also adding a lovely hue to it and the croutons providing texture. By frying the cauliflower, as opposed to the more usual steaming or boiling, you get totally unexpected characteristics from the vegetable – it becomes sweet, mild and crunchy.

Ingredients

¼ cauliflower
60 g butter
7 tablespoons extra-virgin

Vegan
Soup

Method

Remove the thick stalks from the cauliflower and roughly chop the florets into pieces. Heat a large pot, add half the butter and let it cook to a light nut-brown. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then add the cauliflower and cook over a moderate-to-high heat to caramelize it, stirring often. Tip