We’ve all had those days when we open the refrigerator and all that’s there to greet us is one head of cauliflower. OK, maybe that’s not all, but it’s all we can really commandeer for dinner.
You may not know this, but cooking with cauliflower is a tried-and-true Jewish tradition. On Passover, puréed cauliflower can produce a Pesadich pizza crust base, and next month will bring a recipe for cauliflower latkes. For today, though, I’m in soup mode. This is a culinary style I call “something from nothing.”
Cooking regularly for your family when you don’t have time to shop makes for some pretty creative use-what’s-on-hand meals.
Some items to keep in stock: hard cheese, sour cream, shelf-stable vegetable stock, root vegetables that can last for a month, a thyme plant in your window. Spices. Flour. Sugar. Butter or oil. And wine.
Feel free to fold anything fun into the biscuits instead of chives — caramelized onions, dried cranberries, goat cheese (or all three!). As for the soup, substitute half-and-half for sour cream. Or sub out the cauliflower for broccoli. Something from nothing — it’s an adventure every week.
Chive Biscuits
Adapted from “Barefoot Contessa Family Style” by Ina Garten
Makes 8 biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 lb. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives or fresh parsley leaves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on low speed until butter is the size of peas. With the mixer on low, add the half-and-half and beat until just mixed. Add the chives and mix until just combined.
Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and knead lightly into a circle 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are firm.
Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
Serves 6-8
4 Tbs. butter
1 cup (2 small) leeks, white part only, cleaned and chopped
1 cup fennel, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dry)
41/2–5 cups cauliflower florets (1 medium head)
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 tsp. sugar
Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté 3 minutes. Add fennel and celery and cook 3 more minutes. Add garlic and thyme, sauté until fragrant. Add cauliflower, turn heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil. Add broth, nutmeg, 1 tsp. of the salt and pepper (to taste) and simmer uncovered 15 minutes over low heat. Cover and simmer 15 more minutes.
Turn off the heat. Blend using standing or immersion blender. Whisk in sour cream and cheddar until smooth. Taste and season with sugar and remaining salt. Depending on how salty your broth was, you may need all of the remaining 1 tsp. salt.
Josie A.G. Shapiro, who won the 2013 Man-O-Manischewitz Cookoff, is co-author of “The Lazy Gourmet.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Her website is www.thechickencontests.com.