Purple Cauliflower Soup

I'm always looking for new fruits and vegetables at the local shops and love when I stumble across something that's a little bit out of the ordinary. The purple cauliflower I found this week certainly was a bit different.

Like a little kid, I was attracted to the bright pinky purple colour. Not knowing if it was going to taste any different to the regular variety of cauliflower, I just knew I had to buy it and turn it into purple soup!

I did a bit of research into purple cauliflowers to find out about them and apparently they are actually one of four naturally occurring coloured cauliflowers. White is the regular colour, but purple, green and orange are also available. The colours come from small amounts of other minerals and elements. Purple contains an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is also present in red cabbage and red wine. As soon as I read this, I knew I'd like it!

The orange variety contains beta carotene, also found in carrots, and the green variety can be either a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower, which are both from the same family, or a mutant form of white cauliflower that produces chlorophyll. The science nerd in me found this really interesting!

I didn't want to do anything too fancy with my purple cauliflower as I wanted it's beautiful colour to come through. The soup was perfect after a big weekend of eating and drinking and great on a cold night with some fresh crusty bread. There was a little more sweetness and a slight nuttiness to the flavour, which was just delicious. I garnished mine with some creme fraiche and dill, that was left over from the weekend, but you could use cream or parsley, if you had it. A few toasted macadamia nuts would give a wonderful crunch too.

If you stumble across coloured cauliflower, make sure you buy it and have a go at creating something delicious. I'll definitely be eating my coloured veggies from now on!

Purple Cauliflower Soup

1 purple cauliflower, outer leaves removed, stem and florets chopped into large pieces

A drizzle of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

6 cups of chicken or vegie stock

Salt and pepper to taste.

Creme fraiche and dill to garnish

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the garlic and onion and cook until starting to soften, but not brown.

Add the cauliflower and stir to coat in the oil. Cook for 5 minutes, or until it just starts to soften.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.

Allow to cool slightly, then blitz with a stick blender into a smooth soup. Season to taste.

Serve the beautiful purple soup with a drizzle of creme fraiche, a sprinkling of dill sprigs and some fresh crusty bread or toast.

Enjoy!