Weekend Herb Blogging #106: Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

October 27, 2007 | Filed Under Cauliflower, Lucullian Delights, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Vegetables, Weekend Herb Blogging | 9 Comments

I love the name that Ilva of Lucullian Delights gives this healthy, simple and tasty soup. Love it. I made the soup for a sick family member in the hospital and myself. We loved it. Oh, yeah: And my brother had some. He liked it a lot , too. When I spilled some of the soup on the floor, one of my dogs licked it clean. It seems that she liked it as well. ;-) Thanks, Ilva!

One of the ingredients in this soup, fresh parsley, is such a popular herb. I buy it quite often and would love to be able to grow it on my kitchen window. That would be awesome! I love the fresh green earthy taste of this herb and the fact that it has a lot of health benefits — like it’s rich in vitamin C and A. I like how it can be used in a lot of dishes. Apart from being able to eat parsley, my favorite thing to do with it is to use it as a garnish. That touch of green in my plate makes a big difference to me.

I’m submitting this post for the Weekend Herb Blogging event, which Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen created. This week, Pille of Nami Nami acts as host. Check out her blog for the roundup of other Weekend Herb Blogging posts.

Paz

Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

Lucullian Delights

The leaves and stem/trunk of 1 cauliflower
2 big tomatoes
Chopped parsley
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

- Chop the leaves and the stem/trunk of the cauliflower and braise them for 3-4 minutes in a pot in some olive oil. Add salt.
- Chop the tomatoes, add these to the pot and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add water until the vegetables are well covered and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Blend until it’s on the smooth side, if it’s too dense you add some more water and heat it up. Check if more salt is needed.
- Serve hot or cold.

Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Mustard Seeds

July 5, 2006 | Filed Under Cauliflower, Lucullian Delights, Vegetables | Leave a Comment

Click on photo for larger image

Here’s another cauliflower recipe, again from Ilva’s Lucullian Delights. This Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Mustard Seeds dish is so much different from the Hot Cauliflower with Tomatoes recipe I posted some time ago. It tastes just as good.

The mustard seeds give it a sort of sharp, tangy, yet pleasant taste. I really liked the combination of the flavors from the cauliflower, chickpeas and mustard seeds. They complimented each other. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the taste, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Instead of cauliflower, Ilva used a Romanescu cabbage. I’ve never see or tasted it before and I’d like to try it in the near future. The cabbage looks spectacular. Go check out Ilva’s photo. You won’t want to miss it! Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Ilva’s recipe:

CAVOLFIORE E CECI CON SEMI DI SENAPE or CAULIFLOWER AND CHICKPEAS WITH MUSTARD SEEDS

1 head of cauliflower, I used Romanescu cabbage because it is not only beautiful, it is really nice tasting as well but this works well with normal cauliflower as well

2 medium onions

200 gr cooked chickpeas

4 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tbsp black mustard seeds

Salt

Olive oil

- Chop the onion finely and fry it gently in a skillet or in a wok together with the yellow mustard seeds in some olive oil.

- Divide the cauliflower into small florets add these and salt to the skillet/wok. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.

- Add the chickpeas and go on cooking, stirring often. If you want you can add a little bit of water, in this way it soften faster.

- When the cauliflower florets are soft, you add the black mustard seeds, stir and serve it.