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A bit of oil and salt makes everything better, right? Almost like crunchy croutons in a salad (except much better) these little crispy bits of olive are a perfect touch atop the rich, creamy cauliflower soup.

You will need

Serves 4

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 brown onion
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1L vegetable stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 50ml extra virgin olive oil

Deep Fried Black Olives

  • 100g Kalamata olives, pitted
  • 200ml vegetable oil

To serve

  • Bunch parsley, roughly chopped
  • 4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted (gluten-free if required)
  • Chunk cultured oat butter (or vegan gluten-free butter)

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Directions

10 mins to prep

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.

  2. Step 2

    Chop the cauliflower up roughly. (It doesn’t matter how, but the smaller the pieces are, the quicker they will roast and go brown.) Slice the onion in quarters, but leave the skin on (you can slide that off easily after it’s roasted.)

  3. Step 3

    Place cauliflower, onion, and whole garlic cloves in a bowl. Drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything in the bowl to ensure the vegetables are coated in olive oil. Divide between a couple baking trays and roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is dark brown (but not burnt). Allow everything to cool slightly on the trays.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile in a pot, add the stock, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil. Remove the skin from the roasted onions. Add the cauliflower, onion and garlic to the stock. Turn the heat down to medium-low so that the soup is just simmering. Put a lid on and cook for 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    While the soup is simmering, pour the vegetable oil into a pan and heat to 160–170°C. Finely dice the Kalamata olives and place into the hot oil. Fry until there are hardly any more bubbles coming from the olives. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the fried olives from the oil and place in a bowl lined with a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. The olives will go crispier as they cool.

  6. Step 6

    Remove the herbs from the soup, add a pinch of nutmeg and the remaining olive oil and blend until the oil is fully incorporated and the soup is smooth and creamy.

  7. Step 7

    Pour into a bowl and top with chopped parsley, fried olives and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with toasted sourdough.

Recipe: Simon Toohey

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