Fancy That!
I have spent quite a bit of time in the UK over the years, and usually at home with natives. They will often use the endearing word “fancy” when asking about your food and drink wishes. For example, “Do you fancy a cuppa?” It’s hard to turn down a cup of tea, or anything really, when so cheerfully offered. I am sometimes asked if I fancy a “brew,” and the first time I was asked I thought they were suggesting a beer, rather than a cup of freshly brewed tea. Silly me. jump to recipe
Last week a friend made the assumption that I had been working family togetherness food, or hors d’oeuvre for New Year’s, but I wasn’t fancying that, per se. I made both, but what I really couldn’t wait to make was purple cauliflower soup. Those you feed, however, must be likely to say “Yes, please!” when asked if they’d fancy a bowl.
Just because we come from the same gene pool, doesn’t mean that we are automatically a lot like the rest of our family. A favorite joke of my mother’s for a while was, “I have one daughter who is a chef, and the other thinks that ‘hot pockets’ are just great.” While you may have trotted out interesting food stuffs for your visiting clan, I needed to make sure I had enough corn and green beans on hand – the only veggies they will eat. But it’s only a week, and now I’m be back to cooking what I fancy, and top of the list was purple cauliflower soup.
I have been seriously fancying purple and magenta produce recently. Although the initial attraction is simply based on their good looks, purple fruits a vegetables also pack a nutritional punch. They are chalk full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as phytochemicals – you know, good for you stuff. The science says that anthocyanin-rich purple produce, such as berries, cabbage, plums, purple potatoes and so on, have copious health benefits. So, you can reduce your risk of certain cancers and heart disease, boost your immune system, eyes, and digestive health when you regularly eat from the violet side of the food rainbow. Little people may be more likely to go for the purple over greens.
Radishes have become one of those things ever in my crisper drawer. They have the same amazing nutrition profile as other purple produce, and then some. The stomach and digestion benefits are especially noteworthy, but their list of health perks is lengthy, so perhaps you’ll want them ever in your fridge as well.
I recently spied very carrot-like “Scarlet” radishes that were stunning, and brought home few watermelon radishes from the co-op. Until you slice into a watermelon radish, you won’t know that their name is dead-on. The white ring and raspberry center are even cuter than a slice of actual watermelon. I had the “girls” from the gym over for a festive lunch not long ago, and I put out “healthy snacks” to greet them. By the time I served the chili, the watermelon radishes had been devoured. They were just too beautiful to resist – fancy that!
To make this with purple cauliflower, you’ll want to lower the heat for the onions, as a lot browning will affect the end color of the soup, otherwise, brown away. To give a little purple insurance, use purple potatoes, which I am finding in most markets these days.
Ingredients
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 cups broth
- 1 medium potato, chopped
- Nutritional yeast, as needed
Instructions
- Cut cauliflower into florets, reserving a few little cute ones for garnish.
- Heat a soup pot over medium heat, add a little oil and sauté until beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook another minute, then add broth. Add cauliflower and potato and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and season with salt. Let cook about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Using a stick blender, or being careful with a traditional blender, puree soup until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Garnish with reserved florets, nutritional yeast, and maybe something green.
