We’re only a quarter of the way into Winter and my skinny jeans are already tight. Damn. How did that happen?
In Summer I seem to exist on salads, fruits, healthy desserts and sorbet. Naturally I’m at my lightest then.
In Winter, however, I turn into a dessert and carb monster, devouring all the sweet treats and carbs within my reach. I’m in the midst of a raging affair with raisin toast — we just can’t get enough of each other — and the crumpets on my kitchen bench are becoming sulky and spiteful. Meanwhile, the curry and rice in my fridge keep whispering dirty sweet nothings to me late at night, “eat us, Christina. You know you want to.”
Hmmm… I think I’ve worked out why my skinny jeans are so tight.
Luckily, I’m also eating a lot of soup at the moment, which besides being healthy is perfect for this time of year.
This soup — Cauliflower, Leek and Chorizo Soup — was devised when my toddler insisted we buy some cauliflower while out grocery shopping. I then noticed leeks were on special and in the deli section I picked up some nice chorizo.
There are two ways you can make this dish: one is more concerned with taste (the chorizo is fried with the leeks so the chorizo oil flavours the soup) and the other is more concerned with appearance (the chorizo is fried separately so it crisps up and looks pretty on top of the soup). Which method you choose will tell me a lot about you as an individual. Not that I’m judging you – I went for appearance over taste for this shoot. But can you blame me?
A few nights of eating soups like this and I feel all virtuous and born-again. Which is a good thing because all it takes is a job for a client — like shooting this Apple & Raspberry Almond Crumble — to make me fall off the (dessert) wagon again.
But I’m not worried. I found a great deal on a local gym membership and I fully intend to start going regularly as soon as I am feeling better. I’m going to wave goodbye to my food blogger butt and say hello to my yoga butt.
Right after another bowl of this tasty soup. And maybe a crumpet or two.
Cauliflower, Leek and Chorizo Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 leek, washed and sliced thinly (white part only)
- 1 chorizo, diced
- 1 whole cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small pieces
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 1/2 cup cream (optional)
- EVOO to garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
- Heat up non-stick pot and then add oil.
- Fry leek over medium heat for a couple of minutes and then add chorizo and cook for a minute or two until starting to crisp up.
- Add cauliflower, potatoes and chicken stock. Turn heat up to high and bring to the boil.
- Once boiling, turn heat down to low, cover with a lid and cook for 12-14 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
- Use a stick blender to process soup until smooth.
- If not using cream, ladle into bowls and then garnish with EVOO and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread rolls.
- If using cream, let soup cool down for 15 minutes and then add cream and mix well. Gently heat up again until desired temperature, garnish with EVOO and salt and pepper and serve with bread rolls.
VARIATION: cook the chorizo separately in a small fry pan in a little olive oil until crisp and then use it to garnish the soup.
