I have an ex-boyfriend to thank for introducing me to this delicious soup, which was more delicious than the ex apparently as after we broke up it was the soup I pined for rather than him! And his cat, but that’s another story… Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight to get a copy of the recipe at the time, but thanks to the internet* I finally found it online last year, hurrah! And it was every bit as tasty as I remembered 
Not sure I could same the same about the ex-boyfriend >.>
This soup is a real winter warmer, and is also the first (and so far only) soup I’ve ever made. Must sneak another one in before Spring hits…
Cooking time about 1 hour
Serves 4
Suitable for freezing
You’ll need…
1 ¼ lb cauliflower florets [which is about 1 medium head's worth]
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
½ cup milk
½ cup double cream
2 ½ cups hard cider [a bottle of Magner's or Bulmer's is spot on]
Half a chicken stock cube
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Snipped chives for garnish
Plus lots of warm crusty bread to dip [Jus-Rol Bake-it-Fresh Crusty White Rolls, or one of those half baked french sticks that you finish baking yourself is perfect]
Other stuff you’ll need…
Large saucepan
Blender or food processor
Grater
Prep to do before you start cooking…
Finely chop the onions, thinly slice the carrots, and mince the garlic.
Cook!
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat before adding the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes with the occasional stir until everything is just softened.
Then add the carrot and cauliflower to the pan before pouring in the cider. Give it all a good stir and then season it with salt, pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg.
Bring to a boil, then add the half chicken stock cube and stir that in before reducing the heat to low and covering the pan. Leave it to cook gently for about 50 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft, and then remove the pan from the heat.
Let the soup cool down a little, then transfer to a blender or food processor and puree the lot until smooth [fifi says... We used a blender and had to puree in batches so probably best to try a little first and see how your blender copes with it. If you're using a food processor the recipe I found says to strain off the cooking liquid and reserve, puree the soup solids with enough cooking liquid to moisten them, and then combine with remaining liquid.]
Return the now pureed soup to the saucepan and stir in the milk and the cream. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as needed.
Simmer the soup over low heat with the occasional stir until it’s heated through.
Ladle up, garnish with a scatter of chives, grab some bread, and enjoy!
* thanks to easy-soup-recipes.blogspot.com for reuniting us
