This is a deliciously tasty and hearty soup to serve up on a cold winter’s night. For my southern hemisphere friends, and I’m talking mainly to you, Melbournians, you could have this on one of the warmer season’s many off-days, when you need to check your calendar to make sure it really is summer! The chorizo adds a beautiful, bold touch to this already scrumptious concoction. One sausage should suffice, but if chorizo is your thing, as it is mine, you may want to sizzle a second sausage.

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower, washed and cut into small florets

extra virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, diced

sea salt and ground black pepper

4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock

1/3 cup cream (optional)

1-2 chorizo sausages, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a heavy-based pot, gently fry the onion and garlic in about 2 tablespoons of oil, until translucent and fragrant. Add the cauliflower florets and stir until the cauliflower is well combined with the onion and garlic, and has a little colour. Season well. Add the hot stock to the cauliflower mixture, then simmer gently until the cauliflower is tender. This should take about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add a little oil to a small saucepan and fry your chorizo for a few minutes, until cooked.

Once your cauliflower is tender, turn off the heat and mash up the mixture with a potato masher. I do this because if I were to go straight to blending, I would end up wearing the soup. This actually has happened to me and was quite traumatising, so I don’t recommend it! Once you are confident that the cauliflower has been smashed to smithereens, blend using a hand-held blender or whatever device you own that you feel will do the trick.

Now, because the chorizo I buy is muy picante, I like to add some cream to my blend to soften the flavours just a tad. Strange, I know, coming from me with my love of boldness and all. We are trying a dairy-free diet at the moment, so you can even use lactose-free cream here. Stir in some cream, if you wish, parsley, then check for seasoning.

Serve up your creamy sensation into bowls (2-3 for a main meal 0r 4-6 for an entrée), top with chorizo slices, a drizzle of the delish chorizo oil and a little parsley on top!