Rice Bowl Tales: 花椰菜起司濃湯 Cauliflower Cheese Soup

花椰菜，屬十字花科蔬菜，與甘藍菜，捲心菜和羽衣甘藍為同樣的植物家族。所有十字花科的蔬菜都能提供人體所需的不同營養成份，如：維生素、礦物質、蛋白質和碳水化合物等。

現在一年四季都能買到花椰菜，但本地產的話，則每年的 12 月至隔年 3 月是花椰菜的最佳品嘗季節。我喜歡買回來炒，或與綠花椰一起汆燙，然後，灑上刨碎的起司放進烤箱焗至微焦。更喜歡用它來煮湯。

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable. It belongs to the same family as broccoli, kale, cabbage and collards. They're a particularly nutritious vegetable family, providing vital vitamins, minerals, proteins and even carbohydrates.

Nowadays you don't have to wait for it to be in season to get your hands on it; it's available all year round. However, it's at its best from December through till March. I love using them in a stir-fry, or roasting them in the oven along with some broccoli, topped with cheddar cheese to make a lovely vegetable bake. But one of my all time favourite ways to use this versatile vegetable is in a soup.

花椰菜起司濃湯

( 4 人份 )

材料 :

奶色乾酪 (如 Cheddar cheese) 125g
橙黃色乾酪 (如 Leicester cheese) 70g
花椰菜 2 個
中型洋蔥 1 隻
鮮奶 2 杯 ( 共 500ml )
中筋麵粉 4 大匙
高湯 100ml
水 500ml
顆粒芥末醬 1 大匙
海鹽、鮮磨黑椒適量
橄欖油 1 大匙
洋香菜 (或百里香) 些許

做法 :

洗淨花椰菜，取起其中一個的 1/4，剩下的切成小塊備用，洋蔥切丁，分別磨碎奶色與橙黃色乾酪。
將取出的 1/4 花椰菜撕開成小顆，放進碗中，加少許橄欖油、海鹽和鮮磨的黑胡椒，放置在中溫的熱烤架 ( hot grill ) 烤至兩面金黃，期間翻面一次。
以中火熱湯鍋，下油後，倒進洋蔥炒約 5 分鐘至香軟透明，加入麵粉拌炒 3 - 4 分鐘至微黃。慢慢注入牛奶，不斷攪拌，再慢慢倒入水和高湯，仍不停攪拌。
加進切小塊的花椰菜，大火煮滾後，加蓋轉小火，煮約 10 分鐘至花椰菜呈軟綿狀。
待湯稍涼後，以手提攪拌棒將湯打至稀爛 ( 可分次攪打綿 )。然後放入顆粒芥末醬和奶色乾酪，用中火煮沸，輕微攪拌以防黏底。若湯太稠的話，可加入 1 - 2 大匙高湯、水或牛奶。
把湯分別盛進碗中，每碗湯面放上磨碎的橙黃色乾酪和烤過的小花椰菜花，加點洋香菜或百里香做為裝飾。

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

( serves 4 )

Ingredients :

125g Cheddar cheese
70g Leicester cheese
2 cauliflowers
1 medium size onion
2 cups milk ( 500ml )
4tbsp all purpose plain flour
100ml vegetable stock
500ml water
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
parsley or thyme for decoration

Method :

Wash the cauliflowers and remove 1/4 from one of them and save to onside, chop up the rest into small pieces. Dice the onions, and grate the two types of cheese separately.
Break the 1/4 of the cauliflower into small florets and put them in a bowl, add a little olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place on a tray and put under a medium hot grill to grill until golden brown, turning once.
Heat the saucepan over medium heat, add oil, put the onions in and sauté for about 5 minutes or until golden, mix in the plain flour and stir-fry together for about 3-4 minutes until the flour turned slightly yellow. Slowly pour in the milk, keep stirring, follow by the water and the stock, continue to stir.
Put the chopped cauliflowers in the pan and bring the soup to the boil, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflowers soft and tender.
Turn off the heat and leave the soup to cool down a little, before using a hand blender to puree the soup. Then heat it up again over a medium heat, add the whole grain mustard and the Leicester cheese, keep stirring to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the soup appears to be too thick, adjust the consistency by adding 1-2 tbsp stock, water or milk.
Divide the soup between bowls, place some grated Cheddar cheese on top of each soup, follow by some of the grilled florets, then garnish with parsley or thyme.