cauliflower soup with roasted hazelnuts

(Date: 3 Feb 2012)

The 23nd recipe in 2013, the 10th recipe from Nigel Slater's. If you asked me again if I am trying to cook through the whole The Kitchen Diaries 2, my answer would still be no, that's not my intention to cook through any book or follow any celebrity chef. But at the moment I'd love to follow Nigel Slater's footsteps in exploring the world of (relatively) simple homey dishes with seasonal ingredients and local produce. Hopefully I'll become a more confident home cook and know more about cooking through using his recipes.

The recipe is from Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries 2. 

What I used (for 4)
2 rashes of thick-cut smoked streaky bacon (about 80g)
1 large onion
garlic, 4 cloves
half of an extra large cauliflowers (about 1 large cauliflower)
500ml vegetable stock
500ml water
2 bay leaves
50g roasted chopped hazelnut
sunflower oil

What I did
Cut the bacon into small pieces, fry in a deep pan till the fat is golden. / Peel and finely chop the onion, add it to the bacon. / Peel and slice the garlic, then add to the pan. Stir regularly to prevent the onion browning. / Break the cauliflowers into florets, add to the onion mixture with the stock and bay leaves and bring to the boil. / Simmer till the cauliflower is tender; it should be quite soft. (Took me 15 minutes) / Toast the hazelnuts in a non-stick pan until they have darkened a little. As soon as the nuts turn a pale brown, pour in a few drops of oil to moisten then add a generous grinding of sea salt and toss together gently. / Remove the soup from the heat, discard the bay leaves and blitz in a blender or food processor till smooth, holding back a few of the cauliflower florets. / Pour the soup back into the pan, bring back to the boil and season to taste. / Ladle into bowls, add the toasted salted hazelnuts and reserved florets and serve.

What I felt? Have to admit that I am slightly disappointed as the soup is a bit bland. I think maybe I am too used to the type of cauliflower with a splash of milk or double cream.

How good was it? 4/10. Not really bad. But I'd say it's not up to my expectation & below average compared with other Slater's recipe.

How easy was it? 7/10. Quite easy. It needs some extra work to toast the hazelnuts though.

How economical was it? 6/10. Not expensive but not exactly economical. The extra cauliflower costs £2 (but I only used half of it). Hazelnuts costs about 80p, an onion costs 40p. The most expensive item is the vegetable stock which costs £2.2. The overall cost is just shy of £5.

Will I make this again? No (not even with a "probably" in the front)