A 5:2 Diet Staple and Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe:
Some time ago I tried making cauliflower cream. The idea is to create something that has all the consistency of cream but none of the fat content or calories. Or at least, FAR fewer calories.
Blitzing an entire cauliflower actually makes rather too much for one person, but cauliflower cream freezes well and will keep in the fridge for about a week. You can use it as a pasta sauce with a good helping of parmesan and some bacon, chicken or mushrooms if you like.
And, as a base for a cream soup it is light and yet creamy. Really quite luscious and almost impossible to ‘split’
I bought my cauliflower and was planning to make cauliflower cheese. But, Christmas intervened and I was left needing a quick use for a whole cauliflower. Cauliflower cream gave me four portions – two to freeze, one to enjoy with pasta and mushrooms and one to experiment with.
Here’s the Cauliflower Cream recipe
Cauliflower Cream
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 15 minutes |
| Total time | 20 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Misc | Freezable, Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Head of Cauliflower
- 100ml Milk
- 50g Butter
- 1 Small Shallot (Finely chopped)
- 3 cloves Garlic (Finely chopped)
Directions
| Step 1 | Melt the butter in a small frying pan |
| Step 2 | Gently sweat the onions and garlic in the butter |
| Step 3 | Break the cauliflower into florets and put into a high speed mixer like a froothie with the milk |
| Step 4 | Blitz on a medium speed for 5 minutes or so |
| Step 5 | Add the onions, garlic and melted butter and continue to blitz till perfectly smooth. Add more milk if necessary till you have something the consistency of double cream. |
| Step 6 | Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to blitz till piping hot. |
The pasta dish was nice but not quite perfect yet. But the truffled cream of mushroom and cauliflower soup was really wonderful. So for now, here’s how to use a quarter of your cauliflower cream to make a delicious soup that is NEARLY suitable for the 5:2 diet.
Truffled Cream of Mushroom and Cauliflower soup
| Serves | 1-2 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 15 minutes |
| Total time | 20 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Soup |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 100ml Cauliflower Cream
- 100ml Semi Skimmed Milk
- 50ml Stock or water
- 150g Chestnut mushrooms (Chopped or sliced finely)
- 10g Butter
- 1 splash Truffle oil
- 1 splash Double Cream
Directions
| Step 1 | Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and gently fry the mushrooms over a low heat for 10 minutes |
| Step 2 | Add the stock, milk and cauliflower cream and warm through |
| Step 3 | Taste and adjust seasoning |
| Step 4 | Serve with a splash of truffle oil and double cream. |
Actually, it was only the addition of a generous glug of double cream which moved this particular soup out of the realms of ‘diet’ and into ‘I’m still on holiday’ mode.
This is a fantastic idea! I’m going to have to try this, creamy recipes are always a huge temptation for me and truffle is one of my favourite flavours so a (relatively) guilt free recipe that combines these two is too good to be true! Thank you! xxx
Lucy
What a brilliant idea Fiona and I’m loving the soup.
Ooh yes, I like this idea. I don’t have the requisite blender, but I guess I could cook the cauliflower first. I’m rather liking the idea of this as a pasta sauce with mushrooms, although your soup looks jolly delicious.
yes, just cook the cauliflower gently in milk, water or a little stock till it is soft, then zap it with a hand blender.
Mmmm, it looks perfect and something I could happily indulge in. Funnily enough one of my foodie goals this year is to try truffles, I keep seeing them and the oil pop up on my favourite blogs but have never tried either.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015 Fiona.
Janie x
What a super idea! I love it! A great way to get all the creaminess and none of the calories. Wishing you all the best for the New Year!
This sounds so incredibly yummy! How long did it take to make this up?
oooh liking the idea of cauliflower cream and mushroom is one of my favourite soups
Loving the look of the Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup. Are you still on the 5:2 diet?
ish! I keep taking breaks, for house moves and stuff!!
Fantastic recipe and different to my usual soup
Yet another great example of the versatility of cauliflower.