2 Servings
Looking at Her Majesty’s Halloween menu, I had the impression that something was missing. What was it? We had the bats and the skeleton and the ghost … so? But some witches of course!
Over the last few days, I have been thinking about a dish which would be reminiscent of witches and when I saw a purple cauliflower at the grocery store, the idea struck me like a thunder. Isn’t purple a typical witch color? How about a purple soup to be served after the bat eyes and before the skeleton stake? 🙂
I decided to use very few ingredients – kind of a basic soup recipe, because I didn’t want the color of the other ingredients to alter the purple color of the cauliflower. And since witches are always a little bit sinister, I thought that a touch of yellow was a must, beside contrasting nicely with the deep purple (no, not the band…). So I sprinkled some olive oil and added some lemon strips on top of the soup. I was very pleased to find out how beautifully the citrus flavor contrasts with that of the cauliflower.
Her Majesty was so excited by the purple color that for the first time ever she ate some soup without making any fuss. Actually, I couldn’t believe my eyes! 🙂 And I’m pretty sure that if you serve this dish for a dinner party, your guests will be really surprised and amazed at the same time. 🙂
Ingredients:
1 shallot, chopped
2 Tbsp, extravirgin olive oil
2 potatoes, diced
1 purple cauliflower
1 1/2 Cups, vegetable stock
1 lemon
Salt
Ground white pepper
Directions:
Wash the cauliflower and cut the florets off. Set them aside.
In a medium/large pot, place 1 Tbsp of olive oil, the shallot and a couple of tablespoons of water and cook, on low heat, until the shallot softens.
Add the cauliflower florets, the potatoes, some salt and pepper (to taste) and the vegetable stock and toss to coat. Cook, stirring often, for about 20/25 minutes. Eventually, the florets and the potatoes will turn kind of mushy and the stock will almost completely evaporate.
In the meantime, using a citrus zester, cut some strips out of the lemon peel. Set them aside.
Transfer the soup to a food processor or a blender and blend until it is smooth and creamy.
Return the soup to the pot and, on a very low heat, cook for a few minutes, stirring often.
Pour the soup into two serving bowls or plates and add some olive oil and lemon strips on top of each.
We wish you all a super fun and sweet Halloween!
Francesca Xx
Flora's Table 
Oh that’s very clever of you Francesca – I LOVE it! I’m not surprised at all that Her Majesty didn’t make a fuss about eating her soup when it looks like this! Perhaps purple cauliflower soup will make an appearance on the dinner table more often?! 😉 Happy Halloween to you too! 🎃
Thank you, Margot! Actually she has been asking me to make this purple soup over and over. Unfortunately, I cannot find another purple cauliflower … only white and of course she doesn’t want the white one. Kids can be so … let’s say particular? 😉
A divine fantastic seasonal soup! I love your cool presentation too, dear Francesca! x
Thank you, dear Sophie! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Such a cool idea and Her Majesty approved I’m sure. Are you going to dress Sophia for Halloween? Hope you post pics if you do. I have a cauliflower I need to use not purple but thats ok, going to make this soup today.
Thank you, Suzanne! I don’t know about dressing Sofia for tomorrow night. Her Majesty would like to but Stefano is totally against it. We’ll see who wins! 😉
Oh Francesca, this is so creative! I can say that I’ve never seen purple soup before, and I love the fact that it is 100% natural. I’m sure that Her Majesty is just too excited for her Halloween meal 🙂 I hope you all have a spooktacular day tomorrow!
Spooktacular? Too precious! Thank you, Heather, and Happy Halloween to you, Matt and Maya! 🙂
You just amaze me Francesca – there is no end to your creativity! Love the theme and purple witches brew. So funny, Her Majesty ate w/no fuss!
Thank you so much, Mary! My creativity comes and goes … I feel kind of flat when it goes and very excited when it comes. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about! 🙂
Gorgeous. I love this. What a beautiful color. I really do love odd colored veggies.
Thank you, Amanda! 🙂
How fun!
Thank you, Michelle! 🙂
They look so wonderful. I love the colour combinations!
Thank you very much, Liz! 🙂
What a perfect Halloween meal! My daughter will love this too. Afterall, how often do you get to eat purple soup! I love the idea of adding the lemon. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Antonia! Not very often … unfortunately! There is no way I can find another purple cauliflower in the local grocery stores!!!
What more can I say than… you’re brilliant!
Great photos, too!
Well, thank you so much, Tracy! Your comments are always so flattering! 🙂
I’ve often seen the purple cauliflower but never bought it. Now I have to make this purple soup…I love it!
Thank you, Karen! I’m glad you liked the idea! And the taste will not disappoint you! 🙂
“Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble” and a very Happy Halloween to you Francesca and to Stefano and Her Majesty. I hope Sophia is not too scared by the noise and fireworks of Halloween. Your purple cauliflower soup is inspired and the yellow citrus strips look so pretty on top of it. 😉
Thank you, B.! It was a great night and the girls were very excited! 🙂
Oh that’s awesome & fun. Wish u all a very happy spooky Halloween .
Thank you, my dear Bizou! It was fun and Her Majesty had a great time! 🙂
This is so awesome, Francesca! I always think of sweet treats at Halloween but this is perfect. So clever! ❤
Thank you! Of course, you always think of sweet treats! After all, you are MM! 😉
How very creative, Francesca! Her Majesty doesn’t yet know just how special her Mother is. She will, though. Guaranteed. 🙂
Thank you, John! Hopefully, one day she will agree with you. After all, isn’t every mother’s dream? 🙂
I have to say: OMG!!! This is so wonderful. I would have FLIPPED over something like this as a kid. What am I saying, I’m flipping over it NOW! I’m older than you guys but would you and Stefano consider adopting me? 😉 I’ll be good, I promise! OK, joking (half joking really) aside I want to say all earnestly that: Fabulously creative recipe and beautiful photography. LOVE!
I love cauliflower soup! The cauliflower gets so mild and sweet and so very delicious! I found a beautiful purple cauliflower too last month and ended up roasting it. I was quite surprised that the colour remained a vibrant purple after cooking. It was beautiful! As is this purple soup and very fitting for a witch!
Supercool, great idea, dear Francesca! Her Majesty is very lucky indeed, I’d say! 🙂
Hope you had a great time. Sorry about my belated visit, traveling slows things down a bit …
Big hug to you all!
I love this! How perfect. I am sorry I was not here before Halloween! I will have to save it for next year.
Whew 😱😨Thats one scary setting. You nailed it just so well. The ‘ extra virgin’ olive oil makes it sound scarier 😨
Thank you so much! So kind of you! 😇