When you get a little too busy, do you find yourself eating too much junk? Come on, don’t tell me it’s just me!
I came to Greece from the UK last week full of good intentions in the form of half a suitcase full of healthy hard-to-find-here-in-Greece ingredients and magazine clippings with inspiration for wholesome homemade take-to-work lunches. OK, I admit it, plus a few not-so-healthy things. There was a stash of my favourite UK chocolate bars, for instance. And a jar of Marmite, which is a weird love it or hate it British breakfast spread which I happen to love (with cheese … mmmm) … oh, and a cute little jar of Canadian maple syrup. And I’d better stop there … but you get the idea.
And so what did I eat for lunch all week? A spinach-cheese pie here, a sort of Greek-style meat patty with (very salty) roasted lemony-oregano potatoes there. Plus a couple of undeniably yummy pitta breads stuffed with chicken souvlaki and fries. Doesn’t sound too bad, you might think, but you should see how much oil, salt and mayonnaise they dump on all these things! Tasty, but not really all that virtuous.
I suppose there was that one healthy stovetop Mediterranean chicken casserole, but on the whole, naughty me in the eating department last week! The week was topped off with the half a heart-shaped biscuity caramelly cakey thing with, apparently, Ferrero Rocher chocolates in it that I shared with Mr. Scrummy while collapsing on the sofa with exhaustion on Friday night. (Hope you enjoyed your Valentine’s Day by the way!)
Perhaps needless to say, I hadn’t felt more in need of my Saturday morning slow start for a very long time. Which, I’m happy to report, I got. Mr. Scrummy brought me a cup of tea in bed (well, I am British, remember …), I lazily sat and read the newspaper online, then pottered around my apartment doing little jobs with the lovely pre-spring sunshine streaming in. That’s really all it took to feel human again.
So then I gathered my thoughts and some ingredients and made this beautiful (although I say it myself!) roasted cauliflower and pancetta soup to get something a bit more wholesome and nourishing down myself and the hubs again!
I thought I would hop on the roasted cauliflower bandwagon by, well, roasting the cauliflower for the soup! Roasting cauliflower really intensifies the flavour and in fact almost caramelises it, and I thought it would go perfectly with some of the pancetta I had left over in my fridge from earlier in the week. Which it certainly did. I decided to blitz most of the cauliflower and half of the bacon together in the food processor to give it a nice creamy quality but also left some of it a bit chunkier, too. I was going to add a bit of crumbled blue cheese at the end (which you could of course if you wanted to), but I decided in the end that the soup was already rich and flavourful enough. Instead, to serve I just sprinkled a little extra reserved roasted cauliflower, pancetta and thyme on the top. I also swirled in just a teaspoon or so of Greek yoghurt at the table which added just a hint of creamy tangy-ness.
Tasty, warming, soothing, and definitely wholesome. So perfect to get me back on track after my crazy week!
So, I’m happy to report that I’m feeling a little more fortified and ready to face a new week again. Now you tell me … how do you like to spend your Saturday mornings? What foods from home do you like to take with you when you travel abroad? And what kinds of foods do you like to make when you feel like you’ve been eating too much junk?
Roasted cauliflower and pancetta soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small cauliflower about 500 grams/1 pound & 2 ounces, chopped into medium florets
- salt and pepper
- 4 ounces diced pancetta (or chopped bacon)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large potato about 275 grams/10 ounces, peeled and cubed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 4 or 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- a little Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche to serve (optional)
Instructions
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Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C/425 degrees F. Toss the cauliflower in about a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper and roast for about 15 minutes in a single layer until almost tender.
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Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in a deep pan for a few minutes in the rest of the olive oil, then remove from the pan and set aside.
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Add the butter to the pan, then add the potato, onion, the leaves from the thyme stalks and the bay leaf and cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes. Add the garlic a couple of minutes before the end.
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Add most of the cauliflower (reserve a little to garnish at the end) and stock, bring to the boil then simmer on a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
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Throw away the bay leaf, then add about half of the pancetta and blend the soup in batches until smooth. Leave some of it a bit chunkier if you like. Then return to the pan and reheat a little. Add the rest of the pancetta, reserving just a little for your garnish, and salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve in bowls garnished with the few reserved cauliflower sprigs and the rest of the thyme and pancetta. Swirl in the Greek yoghurt just before serving if desired.
Recipe Notes
A few ideas taken from this recipe on cottagelife.com along with a recipe for broccoli and blue cheese soup in the February edition of UK Good Housekeeping.
Add a little blue cheese to this recipe if you like, either as well as or instead of the pancetta for a vegetarian version.
You can easily make this soup using broccoli instead if you prefer. Just roast the broccoli for 15 to 20 minutes at step 1 then continue with the recipe as it is.
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Chrissy says
19 Feb 14 at 9:55 amI SO could have used this tonight rather than my subpar bowl of roasted veg.
What is your favorite UK chocolate bar? I’m partial to crunchies.
Helen says
19 Feb 14 at 12:22 pmIt was very easy to make, Chrissy, and we still have some in the fridge. My favourite UK choccy bar is Twirls! Crunchies taste amazing but I don’t like how they get stuck in your teeth!
Ashley says
19 Feb 14 at 8:48 pmYes! I love that you roasted the cauliflower first! I bet this is delicious!
Ugh I hear you – things have been so crazy here that I haven’t been eating as well as normal or working out nearly enough. Why is it that those are the first things that slip when life gets nuts?? I need to try to change that!
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 12:22 amWell it got the hubby’s seal of approval, anyhow … and he’s not always the easiest one to impress with food! I had great intentions to get my office lunches sorted out, but it just hasn’t happened yet. What’s going on, I’m supposed to be a kick-ass food blogger now!
cheri says
20 Feb 14 at 1:44 amHi Helen. I’m afraid I’ve been on the cauliflower bandwagon myself. It is so good roasted. Love the addition of pancetta and yogurt. Thanks for sharing!
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 4:27 amThank you, Cheri! My husband said this was the best soup he’d ever had. I think maybe his memory might have been failing him but still, it was indeed good!
Liz says
20 Feb 14 at 4:27 amWow, this is the most gorgeous cauliflower soup I’ve seen. Even my hubby would give it a shot with that nice dose of pancetta 🙂
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 4:37 amAh, thanks Liz! Actually, my husband did actually rave about this and I think it was probably down to the lovely smoked pancetta. Although roasting the cauliflower really does enhance the flavour, too.
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
20 Feb 14 at 7:23 amYum! I think this is just the type of recipe I need to get my guys to eat cauliflower. Seriously pancetta in any soup is simply amazing! I’m sure roasting the cauliflower also makes a huge difference to its flavor. Thanks for sharing!
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 12:46 pmYou’re welcome, Cindy. That slab of pancetta I bought last week has really worked hard for me … it has appeared in almost every meal … lol! Very tasty meals, though!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
20 Feb 14 at 8:31 amI love roasting cauliflower. Sometimes I roast a whole head and just eat that for dinner! But this sounds much more interesting 🙂
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 12:44 pmOoh, now you’ve given me an idea! I would do that for sure, but I’m not so sure about hubs!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
20 Feb 14 at 8:56 amOh how I adore cauliflower soup! Yours look absolutely scrumptious. Great idea to serve it with greek yogurt. Yum!
Helen says
20 Feb 14 at 12:43 pmThank you, Natalie! I put Greek yoghurt in so many things (well, I am in Greece!) .. but it did go very well in this soup!
Denise says
20 Feb 14 at 5:44 pmAll I can say is I love this soup.
Helen says
21 Feb 14 at 12:11 am🙂
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
21 Feb 14 at 12:08 amI would have a big bowl of this soup then go back for one more serving. Looks great!
Helen says
21 Feb 14 at 12:11 amHey thanks, Pamela! Actually, that’s what we did!
Karen @Kama Fitness says
21 Feb 14 at 3:54 amWow your roasted cauliflower looks amazing, I probably would have snacked on it so much there wouldn’t be any left for the soup! Looks like a great tasting soup.
Helen says
21 Feb 14 at 4:18 amWell I admit that I did sneak a few bits after they’d been roasted 😉
Danielle @ TheCharmItSpot says
22 Feb 14 at 1:46 amThis looks so delicious! I love cauliflower! Thanks for sharing!
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 1:47 amThank you so much, Danielle! I hope you try making it some day!
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 5:40 amThanks, Danielle, and you’re welcome! I hope you try it!
Peter @Feed Your Soul Too says
22 Feb 14 at 3:52 amI love cauliflower soup. I recently made one myself. I will definitely need to find time to try your recipe.
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 5:39 amI hope you do, Peter … it’s super easy, like many soups, but so so tasty when you roast the cauliflower and add that lovely pancetta!
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
22 Feb 14 at 6:44 amI am so with you… when life gets busy, my wife and I always get on this take-out routine that is so hard to break. It’s so tempting to just grab something on the way home from work! And honestly, I can’t blame you… new country, tons of amazing food around you… I’d be going out every day for lunch and dinner to explore all that amazing food! But this roasted cauliflower soup sounds amazing! Love that you added pancetta and a little bit of greek yogurt!
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 1:45 pmThe food here is wonderful indeed, Chris – but unfortunately not so much around my office at lunch time. There are wonderful ‘souvlaki pittas’ everywhere, and it’s not the worst fast food you could ever have, but you still wouldn’t want to be eating them every day. Plus there is no microwave at work, so no super healthy soups for me there! Never mind … I’ll get back on track soon!
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
22 Feb 14 at 11:36 amIt is too easy to fall into an unhealthy eating rut! I feel like I’ve been in one for weeks – need to get back on track! Soup is such a perfect way to do that. Healthy, comforting, filling, delicious – this looks so amazing!
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 1:39 pmThanks, Cate! I’m getting out of my rut a bit now – still a way to go though. My next challenge is getting some decent lunches and snacks to work with me.
Jess says
22 Feb 14 at 6:31 pmThis looks so delicious Helen!
Helen says
22 Feb 14 at 6:39 pmHey thank you, Jess!
Sarah & Arkadi says
25 Feb 14 at 12:54 amsimply beautiful soup! we love pancetta around here!
Helen says
25 Feb 14 at 1:27 amThank you, Sarah & Arkadi! I’ll definitely be making this soup again!