Cauliflower Soup with Pear and Gorgonzola [vegetarian]

My passion for cooking extends also to reading recipes. When I read them, I try to imagine the taste of food prepared according to them and if I like it, sooner or later I test them out. This passion makes me buy more cookery books, find more recipes on the internet but also look for recipes everywhere: in all sorts of magazines or even promotional material in supermarkets.

The below soup recipe I found in a Waitrose (British supermarket) booklet. Straight away I liked “the image of the taste” in my mind and when I cooked the slightly changed version, I really did enjoy it. I also tested the soup on my friend who liked it so much that she took the leftovers back home with her.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

20g butter,

200g shallots, peeled and chopped,

1 stick celery, chopped,

2 Conference pears, peeled, cored and chopped,

1 cauliflower (weighing approx. 500g), broken into florets,

1 l vegetable stock,

60g Gorgonzola cheese (dolce), roughly chopped,

3 tbsp chopped parsley,

salt and pepper.

To garnish:

chopped walnuts, parsley and Gorgonzola cheese.

METHOD:

1. In a big pot melt the butter; add the shallots and celery and cook on medium heat for 5 min.
2. Add the pears and cauliflower, stir and pour in the stock; cook for approx. 15 minutes till the cauliflower is soft.
3. Add the Gorgonzola and parsley, cook for 5 minutes longer.
4. Blend the soup till smooth, adjust the seasoning and serve garnished with chopped walnuts, parsley and Gorgonzola.