Cauliflower Soup and Bright Spanish Wine for the Cold

It’s always been hard for me to eat vegetables, especially during the winter. All I really want is meat, carbs, and cookies. Fortunately, my job shows me all the things I can do with vegetables, whether I have a bounty of produce or nothing but cabbage and bitter greens. This season, nothing is more versatile than the cauliflower. Roasted, tempura-fried, riced, doughed...you name it, you can do it to this vegetable. So with the winter finally coming, why not make it into a soup.

Similar to my sinigang, I decided to do a Kombu broth. I felt it would make the cauliflower sing while still giving a delicate flavor. I also wanted to challenge myself by not using any dairy or flour (for the crispy shallots). The soup was still tasty even without butter for sautéing the leek.

I knew that pairing albariño with this simple yet satisfying dish would be perfect, since albariño would add some much needed acid to cut through the soup’s thickness. What really surprised me with this wine was how herbal it is. So good thing I decided to make a salsa verde garnish - which was really to just add color - because it played off the herbaceous hints in the wine.

So with the right wine and lucky decision making, I do eat my veggies all year round.

Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Salsa Verde and Crispy Shallots (Serves: 4)

Ingredients

• 1 quart of Kombu broth (make 1 day before)

  • 3 2-inch pieces of Kombu

  • 4 cups Water

  • 1 Cauliflower head, cut into florets

  • 1 Leek, sliced

  • 1 tbsp Slow roasted garlic confit

  • ¼ cup + 4 tbsp Olive oil, divided

  • ¼ cup Parsley, chopped

  • 2 tbsp Tarragon, chopped

  • 1 tbsp Oregano, chopped

  • ½ tbsp Thyme, chopped

  • 1 Shallot, sliced

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss cauliflower florets in 1 tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping over after 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, blend all the herbs, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor and set aside. Make crispy shallots* and set aside on a paper towel lined plate to dry.

3. In a stockpot, saute the sliced leek with 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium until golden (5 minutes). Take off heat and toss in the cauliflower and garlic confit.

4. Slowly pour in the kombu broth while blending the soup mixture. Continue until you use up all the broth and soup is smooth.

5. Once the mixture is smooth, bring the mixture to a boil. Serve hot and garnish with salsa verde and crispy shallots.*Recipe credit: Food52

About La Val

Founded in 1985, Bodegas La Val is one of the first wineries in Rias Baixas and one of the first dedicated to estate growing and production. Albariño vines are grown in Condado do Tea subregion, which tends to have a humid, rainy climate, a lot of sun, and sandy soils. Because of this microclimate, vines are trained on a pergola system (canopy style where vines are trained to grow high to protect it from too much sunlight) to allow for better air circulation. This wine is hand-harvested and destemmed as well as aged on the lees for a little more rounded texture. Notes of bright citrus fruit and green apple as well as herb stems fill the glass while the high acid gives the wine some nice lift. Additional pairings include grilled octopus salad and fried chicken biscuits.