Food And Drink's Cauliflower Soup With Spiced Pear Chips~

They always have unique..lovely recipes.. I collect the magazines when I can..we missed The Holiday Issue..but I found the recipe online~You can also find so many of their wonderful recipes there..The magazine is free..French and English publications.. offered at the LCBOs with purchase..I think I would be mortified to walk out without a purchase considering the quality of these books and the friendly people at the branch we go to~:)




I love looking at cauliflower:) A little marvel of nature to me~The cream..the green..the white..the shape..the bouquets:)



No matter how you look at it..it's gorgeous..
I was happy to find a new cauliflower soup recipe in The LCBO's Holiday Issue online..

The pears did me in:)




They are sliced thin and baked between parchment and cookie sheets with paprika, salt,pepper and cinnamon sprinkled atop..... they crisp up..then soften in the soup..and the spices add a perfect soupçon of surprise flavors..



La Recette~
Courtesy of Holiday 2008 Food And Drink Magazine/LCBO

Dressed up with a touch of orange and
snappy,
spiced pear chips, cauliflower
becomes fit for company in this easy
soup. Make it a day or two ahead of time
and you only need to reheat and finish it
with a fresh burst of orange just before
serving. The pear chips can be made
days ahead of time and stored in a cookie
tin but you might need to hide them so
they don’t disappear before it’s time to
serve the soup.
SOUP
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 all-purpose potato, peeled and diced
4 cups (1 L) vegetable or chicken stock
(approx.)
2 cups (500 mL) water
7 cups (1.75 L) chopped cauliflower
(approx. 1 head)
½ tsp (2 mL) grated orange zest
1 tbsp (15 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
SPICED PEAR CHIPS
1 firm ripe Bartlett or Bosc pear
½ tsp (2 mL) sweet paprika
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 For soup, melt butter over medium
heat in a large pot. Add onion and sauté
for about 5 minutes until softened but
not browned. Add garlic, bay leaf, ½ tsp
(2 mL) salt and ¼ tsp (1 mL) pepper and
sauté for 1 minute or until garlic is softened
and fragrant.
2 Add potato, stock and water; bring to a
boil, scraping up bits stuck to pot. Stir in
cauliflower.
Reduce heat to medium-low,
cover and boil gently for about 15 minutes
or until cauliflower
and potatoes are
soft. Remove from heat.
3 Discard bay leaf. Using an immersion
blender in pot or, transferring soup
in batches to an upright blender, purée
soup until very smooth. Soup can be
cooled, covered and refrigerated
for up
to 2 days.
4 For spiced pear chips, preheat oven to
275°F (140° C).
5 Line a large baking sheet with parchment
paper. Cut pear lengthwise into
paper-thin slices. Combine paprika, cinnamon,
salt and pepper to taste. Lightly
sprinkle over both sides of pear slices.
Place on baking sheet in a single layer.
Place another sheet of parchment paper
on top and set another baking sheet on
top of paper to keep pears flat.
6 Bake for 45 minutes or until pears are
very soft and starting to dry around the
edges. Remove top baking sheet and
carefully peel off top piece of parchment.
Bake for 15 to 30 minutes longer, checking
often, until pears are dry and firm.
They will crisp more upon cooling. Carefully
peel pears from parchment while
still warm and place on a wire rack to
cool completely.
7 To serve, return soup to pot if necessary
and reheat over medium heat until
steaming, stirring often. Stir in orange
zest and juice and season with salt and
pepper to taste. Ladle
into warmed bowls
and float a pear chip on top of each. Serve
extra pear chips on the side.
Serves 8

My notes..I added some snips of fresh chives~
I halved the cauliflower..used one whole potato..and 4 cups of stock..no water~

Taste and season..Taste and season:)