Recipe: Cold Cauliflower Soup With Curried Crabmeat

I love the combination of cauliflower—a very plebeian sort of ingredient—with the rich luxuriousness of shellfish. If you don't want to bother with the crabmeat, add the curry powder to the onions when sautéing them in the oil to make cold curried cauliflower soup.

For the soup:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 small onion, finely diced
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1 small potato, peeled and diced
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 2 cups water (more or less)
    • salt

For the garnish:

• 1 cup picked crabmeat (being as I come from a long line of Mainiacs, I recommend Maine crabmeat, but any good fresh crabmeat will do)
    • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (you could make your own, but it's really not necessary)
    • 2 tablespoons curry powder

Sauté the garlic and onions with a pinch of salt in the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over low heat until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. Add a cup of water and allow to simmer until the water is evaporated, about 10 minutes (this step allows the onions to really cook until all their harshness is cooked away, making for a better-flavored soup).

Add the potatoes and cover with water and cook until tender. Add the cauliflower and the cream and cover with the remaining water. Season with salt. Turn up the heat to medium and bring the soup up until simmering. Cook until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from the heat and puree with an immersion mixer or blender until very smooth. Allow it to cool and chill overnight in the fridge.

When you are ready to serve the soup, mix the crabmeat, mayonnaise, and curry powder together and season to taste. Taste the soup for seasoning and serve in individual bowls with a dollop of the crabmeat mixture on top.

To read Sara's article about the upsides and downsides of serving food at benefits, click here.