creamy roasted garlic, chanterelle, and cauliflower soup with chanterelle "croutons"

The first local chanterelles of the season have finally made an appearance at the organic foods store, and so the poor folks who work and shop there were treated to my happy-produce-dance again. It's lucky I don't embarrass easily. Anyone who gets as excited over fresh vegetables as I do should not be let out in public, as at any moment I'm prone to bust out a bastardized version of the electric slide and, well, that just ain't pretty.

But these, these are some sexy morsels of fungus ...


I bought out their stock during my lunch break yesterday and spent an insomnia night with visions of this soup dancing in my head. The sweet caramelized subtlety of the roasted garlic brings out the earthiness of the chanterelles, and the chanterelle "croutons" provide textural contrast to the creaminess imparted by the cauliflower and potatoes. It's a simple, hearty soup that relies on the quality of the primary ingredients, rather than added seasonings and trickery, for its flavour, and in my opinion deserves a dance all its own...


creamy roasted garlic, chanterelle, and cauliflower soup with chanterelle "croutons"

what you need ...

1 small onion, chopped
2 medium leeks, thinly sliced (white and tender light green parts)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. new potatoes, peeled and diced (approx. 1 heaping cup)
1 medium head cauliflower, florets and stem, chopped (approx. 6 heaping cups)
1 lb. fresh chanterelles, roughly chopped
4 large heads roasted garlic (instructions below, in case you need 'em)
1/4 c. dry white wine
3 1/4 c. home made, strong, salt-free mushroom stock
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)

3 medium chanterelles, sliced
olive oil spray
salt
freshly ground pepper

what you do ...

Turn broiler to 400°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray sheet with olive oil. Lay sliced chanterelles on the sheet in a single layer, spray very lightly with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Broil in upper-third of oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large soup pot, steam-fry onion, leeks and minced garlic until onions are translucent, then add chopped chanterelles and continue cooking until the chanterelles start to sweat.

Add cauliflower, potatoes, and a few tablespoons of mushroom stock and continue steam-cooking until cauliflower and potato begin to soften.

Add wine, remaining stock, roasted garlic, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes, or until cauliflower and potatoes are very tender and start breaking down.

Purée soup using either an immersion blender or a food processor, adding additional stock if / as needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Taste for salt and pepper. Eat.



how to roast garlic ...

If you've never roasted your own garlic because you thought it was hard : get out your big boots -- you're gonna want to kick yourself.

Turn on your broiler at 400°F and cut as many decent-sized rectangles of tinfoil as you have garlic bulbs to roast.

Remove papery outer skins of the garlic bulbs, leaving them whole. Leave the layer of skin directly enclosing the garlic cloves. Slice the tops off the bulbs to expose the cloves.

Place each bulb on its own square of tinfoil. Wrap tightly and place on a baking sheet in the upper third of your oven.

Roast for an hour, remove from oven, and let cool enough to handle before removing foil.

To get the roasted garlic out of its pajamas, it's as simple as squeezing the bulbs from the bottom.

To store roasted garlic just package in a tightly sealed container and keep in the fridge. I normally roast a boat-load of garlic at a time to have on hand (if you've ever had roasted garlic and tahini smeared on pita bread you'll understand why I do this ...).

Since this month's edition of the Go Ahead Honey - It's Gluten Free event is all about the seasonal produce and this soup contains local chanterelles, and local and organic garlic, new potatoes, and cauliflower, I'm submitting it for this month's round-up being hosted by Rachel over at The Crispy Cook.

I also humbly submit this original soup recipe to this month's edition of the Culinarty Original Recipes event, hosted by Lore at Culinarty.

hot days, cold foods ...

The temperature here has been pretty unrelentingly brutal of late, and so the idea of eating anything cooked just isn’t doing it for me. With all the fresh gorgeous local produce showing up at my local organic pushers and my garden getting into the swing of things, I’m not complaining. I’ve been happily living on salads and raw fruits and berries and veggies, and my brain’s been occupied with a mess of random-firing new recipe ideas that will help me put the bounty to good use.

Friday night a few friends came over for some feasting and relaxing, as is our wont. J and B are the best dinner guests a girl could hope for – they’ll eat anything you put in front of them, do it with a smile, and never balk at the lack of animal-y ingredients. I decided to go with a couple old hot-day standbys, gazpacho and carrot salad. Being a person who can’t not mess with a good thing, and being rich in fresh basil this time of year, the classic Spanish cold soup recipe went through a number of costume changes, crossed the Mediterranean, and landed on the shores of Italy. And the carrot salad, well… it just got extra sweet. And beta-full. I'm pretty sure I'll wake up in the morning with x-ray vision.

Italian gazpacho

what you need …

4 medium, very ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 3 ¼ c.)
1 small red onion, chopped (about ¾ c.)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 c.)
1 c. English cucumber, unpeeled, chopped
1 c. zucchini, unpeeled, chopped
½ c. celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 c. home made salt-free veggie stock (can use good-quality store-bought)
1 c. fresh basil, chopped and loosely packed
1 tsp. fresh oregano
½ tsp. sea salt (if using a salted stock you may want to reduce this or omit entirely)
¼ tsp. ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. good, strong extra virgin olive oil (optional, but recommended)
lemon slices, more fresh basil

what you do …

Combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, veggie stock, herbs, pepper, vinegars, and olive oil (if using) in food processor and purée until liquefied.

Add the rest of the veggies and pulse through until desired consistency is reached

Taste before adding salt, then go to town if you think it needs it.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving, and preferably overnight. When serving, ladle into chilled bowls and top with fresh basil en chiffonade.

sweet and simple carrot-beet salad

what you need …

2 medium beets, peeled and grated
5 large carrots (just over 1 lb.), scrubbed and grated, excess juice squeezed out *
1/2 c. raisins (I like jumbo Chilean flame raisins, but thompsons are good, too)
8-10 unsulphured dried apricots, slivered
1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp and all
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 c. dry-roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds (I just get the raw ones and toast them myself)

what you do …

Throw carrots, beets, and dried fruit into a large bowl** and mix well.

Combine orange juice, lemon juice, ginger, orange zest, and salt in a jar, shake well, and let sit 10 minutes. Once the 10's up, shake it again and pour over salad, tossing to distribute.

Cover bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill and allow flavours to marry. If you think of it, take it out and toss it every 15 minutes or so to make sure everything gets equally juicy

Serve topped with sunflower seeds.

* this step is important, as otherwise your salad will end up a little on the soupy side

** make sure to use non-reactive (ie glass, enamel, etc.) bowls for this recipe

Seeing as my Italian gazpacho recipe was birthed out of a desire to showcase the fresh basil being belched out of my veggie patch at an alarming rate, it fits the bill for this month's No Croutons Required challenge being hosted by Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes, and I humbly submit to her judgment.