Recipe: Cream of Cauliflower Soup (Creme ou Veloute Dubarry)

the appetizer:

Learn how to cook like a French chef with The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine by The French Culinary Institute, including recipes like Cream of Cauliflower Soup (Crème ou Velouté Dubarry), Potatoes Anna (Pommes Anna), and Kidneys with Mustard Sauce (Rouelles de Rognons à la Dijonnaise).

Cream of Cauliflower Soup
(Crème ou Velouté Dubarry)

Serves 4
Estimated time to complete: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
40 grams (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
75 grams (2-1/2 ounces) leek, white part only, well-washed, émincé
40 grams (1-1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1.25 liters (1 quart, 10 ounces) White Veal Stock or White Chicken Stock
(see page 53 of the book), or water or milk
100 milliliters (7 tablespoons) heavy cream
Milk, if needed
1 large egg yolk
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, optional
Chervil leaves, washed and dried

Equipment

Chefs knife
Stockpot
Wooden spoon
2 saucepans
Metal spoon
Whisk
Wooden spatula
Food mill or blender
Chinois
Bain-marie, optional
4 warm, shallow soup bowls

Prepare your mise en place.

Wash and core the cauliflower. Pull off and reserve about 12 tiny florets. Using a chef's knife, chop the remaining cauliflower and set aside.

Cook the florets à l'anglaise, refresh, and set aside.

Heat the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 3 minutes or until the leek has sweated its liquid but not taken on any color.

Add the flour and singer. Remove from the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes or until cooled slightly.

Place the stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam or particles that float to the surface with a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and, whisking constantly, add the hot stock to the leek mixture.

When well blended, return the stockpot to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Immediately add the reserved cauliflower and return to a bare simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula to ensure that the bottom does not stick or burn, for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. If at any point the bottom sticks or scalds, remove the pot from the heat, transfer the soup to a clean pot without scraping the burned portion into the new pot, and return it to the stove. Do not allow the soup to continue cooking once it begins to stick or burn.

Remove the pot from the heat and either pass the soup through a food mill or puree it in a blender. Once processed, pass the puree through a chinois into a clean saucepan.

Place the saucepan over medium heat. Add 75 milliliters (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) of the cream and bring to a simmer. Immediately check the consistency. If too thick, add milk, 15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) at a time.

Make a liaison with the remaining 25 milliliters (1-1/2 tablespoons) cream and the egg yolk. Whisk in a bit of the hot soup to temper the mixture before whisking it into the simmering soup. Taste and, if necessary, season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately or transfer the soup to a bain- marie and keep warm for service. When ready to serve, pour an equal portion into each of four warm, shallow soup bowls. Place 3 of the reserved cauliflower florets in the center of each bowl and garnish with chervil leaves.

from:
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine
by The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate
Photographs by Matthew Septimus; Illustrations by Glenn Wolf
496 pages / Hardcover
650 full-color photographs, 20 color illustrations, and 200 recipes
$75.00 U.S. / $90.00 Canada
Stewart, Tabori & Chang 2007
ISBN: 1-5847-9478-X
EAN: 978-1-58479-478-3
Recipe reprinted by permission.

Buy The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

Recipes
- Cream of Cauliflower Soup (Crème ou Velouté Dubarry)
- Potatoes Anna (Pommes Anna)
- Kidneys with Mustard Sauce (Rouelles de Rognons à la Dijonnaise)

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