- one cauliflower (around 1-1.2 kg)
- 1.5 onions ( diced)
-750 ml water
- 700 ml milk (we always use semi-skimmed but you can use any other kind)
- salt
- 100 gr of serrano or parma ham (cut it into thin short stripes) - needless to say that this is better if the ham is iberico...
- 50 gr of hazelnuts (chopped)
- olive oil (4 tablespoons)
Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. Clean the cauliflower, cut it into florets, mix it well with 2.5 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and put it into a roasting tin (it has become fashionable to coat vegetables in oil by putting them into a plastic sealable bag - but coating them with your hands takes no time at all, so why bother with the bag?). Roast the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes until the edges are brown. When this is done fry the onion in the remaining olive oil for 8-9 minutes, add the roasted cauliflower and wait for a couple of minutes. Then add the water and milk, a bit more salt and let it all simmer ( without boiling) for 10 minutes. If it boils you may get some curds, but do not worry because the taste will be still great. Blend it all with a hand held blender (we like this soup rather thick but if you prefer it thin then add a bit more water with milk).
Before you are going to serve the soup heat the ham on a frying pan (do not add any oil) for a minute or so. Then put the hazelnuts on the pan until they get golden (one minute to a minute and a half). Sprinkle the ham and hazelnuts over the soup before you serve it and add a drizzle of olive oil if you wish (not needed for taste, but it looks prettier) .
Children can help easily with it all. Mine like this for lunch, except for the hazelnuts - but regardless of my children's taste, hazelnuts, ham and cauliflower are a superb combination.
