Kokos-Blumenkohl-Suppe (coconut cauliflower soup)

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a 4 litre pot over medium heat and sweat the onion, garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt for 6 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
2. Stir in the curry powder and turmeric and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. This step blooms the spices; skipping it leaves the soup tasting dusty rather than warm.
3. Add the cauliflower, coconut milk and broth. Bring to a simmer, then turn down until it barely bubbles.
4. Simmer 15 minutes, until a knife slides into a floret with no resistance. Do not let it go longer than needed; overcooked cauliflower turns sulphurous.
5. Blend until completely smooth, in batches in a blender if working by hand.
6. Stir in the lime juice, then season with salt. Taste; the lime is what stops this tasting flat, so do not skip it even if the bottle is nearly empty.
7. Serve with cilantro and toasted coconut flakes scattered over each bowl.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl.

1. Garlic and ginger into the dry bowl. Chop 3 sec / speed 6. Add the onion, roughly chopped, and chop 4 sec / speed 5.
2. Add the coconut oil. Sauté 6 min / 120 °C / speed 1, measuring cup off, until translucent.
3. Add the curry powder and turmeric. Sauté 1 min / 100 °C / speed 1, measuring cup off, until fragrant.
4. Add the cauliflower, coconut milk and broth. Cook 15 min / 100 °C / speed 1, measuring cup on.
5. Blend until silky, working up gradually to 1 min / speed 9.
6. Add the lime juice and salt. Mix 10 sec / speed 3. Taste through the lid and correct, then serve with cilantro and toasted coconut flakes over each bowl.

Notes

• Do not skip blooming the spices. Curry powder and turmeric cooked briefly in fat taste rounder and warmer than the same spices added straight to the liquid, which tastes dusty by comparison.
• Watch the cauliflower closely near the end. It goes from tender to overcooked quickly, and overcooked cauliflower turns grey and takes on a sulphurous smell that no amount of seasoning fixes.
• The lime juice is not decorative. Coconut milk soups taste flat without an acid to cut through the richness, and this is the one that does it here.
• It keeps well for 3 days in the fridge and freezes for up to 2 months; the coconut milk can separate slightly on reheating, which a good stir fixes.

Ingredient substitutions

• Cauliflower can be swapped one for one with broccoli for a green version, though the flavour shifts noticeably sharper.
• Mild curry powder can be replaced with 15 g of red or yellow curry paste for a more assertive, more distinctly Thai-leaning soup.
• Coconut milk should be full-fat for the right body; light coconut milk gives a thinner soup that needs more thickening from the cauliflower to compensate.
• For extra protein, stir through 200 g cooked chickpeas in the last 5 minutes, warmed through rather than blended in.

From Christoph Mayer

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