This Cauliflower Macadamia Soup with Lemon is light and unbelievably delicious. I love anything with Cauliflower because it makes a creamy filling delicious soup. You wll be surprised how well macadamias work with soup.
I have so much I want to tell you about Italy, but when I came home last week there were too many things going on and I got side tracked for a minute, so that will follow soon. My teen Skater, got his licence, the clever young thing did very well and passed first attempt. This now means no more driving lessons, a relief beyond measure. It really is true however that the good and the bad almost always arrive in tandem and this is one such time. “Can I borrow the car” is now on high rotation and my saying no, is even starting to irritate me. Still, this is a house with only 1 car and the excess for a driver of his experience is $2050, way out of my comfort zone. So, he will have to wait a little while for more practise.
Cauliflower, Lemon and Macadamia soup
Meanwhile, I’ve met some great people on twitter lately and one of them was “Australian- Macadamias.org” a group aligned to support, publicize and promote the Australian industry with news and recipes. Visit them on Facebook for recipes
I was invited, along with about 12 or so other bloggers to a fun cooking class and challenge with Colin Fassnidge from 4 fourteen restaurant, the Four in Hand ( Paddington), The Paddington Arms and of course My Kitchen Rules and Eamon Sullivan, who has been an Ambassador for Australian Macadamias for a couple of years. He has continued with his love of food and opened several cafe/restaurants in Perth if you want to check them out...Louis Baxters and The Bib and Tucker on the beach in Fremantle.
The night coincided with the new season of Macadamias and this quick recipe was inspired by Colin Fassnidge’s recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke Soup that he made at the event. Not everyone has access to Jerusalem artichokes or the sorrel ( a lemony leaf) that Colin used so I put together this recipe for Cauliflower, Lemon and Macadamia Soup. It just so happens that all of these things are in season at the moment.
Colin Fassnidge for Australian macadamias
After Eamon and Colin demonstrated their recipes we headed into the Sydney Seafood School Kitchen to try them out in a bit of a “pressure test” with Colin and Eamon as the judges. The trick was to make the two recipes in 30 minutes. Martyna from The Wholesome Cook .com and I had a great time and we did a fantastic job. We all sat down after to eat our soup for dinner.
Sydney Seafood School
Plating up our dishes
Now for that wonderful Cauliflower Macadamia Soup with Lemon
Cauliflower Macadamia Soup with Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 kg Cauliflower Flowerettes, 1 large cauli
- 150 gm onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 60 ml Macadamia oil or butter if preferred
- 250 ml cream - I used thickened cream
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 150 gm Macadamias chopped
- 60 ml lemon Juice
- 1 whole lemon zest
- 5 gm salt and pepper
To Serve
- 4 pieces Pancetta grilled till crisp chopped
- 2 Tablespoons chives chopped
- 6 macadamias chopped
Instructions
- Using a medium large pot add the Macadamia oil and warm . Add the onion, garlic, lemon zest and soften. Add the cauliflower, Macadamias, stock and cream.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down and simmer till tender ( approx 20min). Add the lemon juice and puree with a stick blender ( I used my Vitamix for a very smooth finish).
- Test the soup and add salt.
- Chop up pancetta, nuts and chives and serve on top of the soup
Cauliflower soup with lemon macadamias
- Macadamias have been growing in Australia for 60 thousand years
- New season Macadamias are available now
- Approximately 11,500 tonnes of Macadamias will be produced this season
- There are 800 Macadamia farmers in Australia, 500 of them in The Northern Rivers Region ( around Byron Bay)
Thanks Colin for the amusing story about your kids. When they visit the restaurant they make a b-line for the fridge where they like to pat the sheep and pigs hanging in there . I also loved Eamons story. He hated eating almost everything as a kid and constantly ran off to the bathroom during dinner to spit things out.
Hi Tania, it was a pleasure teaming up with you! Your knife skills are second to none – love your twist on the soup too with the cauli and pancetta ( I’ve made the soup since too, so lovely). PS I’ve been letting our 11 yo tell me when he thinks I need to change gears – not long till he’ll be asking the same question…
Such a fun night it was! I love your version of the soup with the cauliflower – it looks so creamy and smooth.
Macadamias are on my list to buy on our next visit to Harkola! And I love cauliflower soup – what a great recipe you’ve shared, the one I make is quite plain.. x
I am so intrigued by this soup! cauliflower and macadamia nuts…never have I seen anything like it!
This sounds wonderful, Tania. Really enjoy adding lemon zest to soup but I’ve never used macadamia nuts in this way. I would really love to have a taste but, considering the distances involved, I’d better start gathering the ingredients.
Welcome back Tania! Can’t wait to hear all about Italy 🙂 Your soup is perfect for a cold winters night! Thanks for posting
I love Australian macadamia nuts and the .org people too. They’ve been very kind to me but I didn’t get to go to anything fancy like this. I’ve met Martyna – isn’t she fun?
I could eat some of your soup right now.
Cauliflower is delicious at the moment isn’t it. We had a cauliflower, leek and potato soup for dinner tonight and I was wishing I had made a bigger pot.
Love the sounds of the macadamia and lemon in your one.
A very beautiful gourmet soup, Tania. I love the use of macadamia nuts in the soup…so creamy and smooth.
That looks so smooth and creamy! Sounds like you had fun too Tania! 😀
I love the silky smoothness of cauliflower soup, and this one sounds delicious Tania! I have a tiny cold climate macadamia tree in my garden, but fear I have a looong wait for it to bear any nuts 🙁
Cara Tania, this is a keeper and can’t wait to try it as I have just bought a snowy white cavolfiore (cauli) from the markets.
ciao Stefano
Would love to see your soup Stefano!
OK! True story! Owned a home at Ocean Shores [24 km N of Byron Bay] for a number of years: my macadamia [just the one out of 60 other fruittrees on my hillside] began fruiting some 5 years after planting and if only for that I DO wish I had never sold that home!! Yes, well!! Fantastic soup – hope I can find the macadamias in the Southern Highlands . . . tweaking would not be half as good 🙂 !
G’day! Love the plating and the flavor combination, TRUE!
I always think cauliflower gets the short end of the stick with its taste being bland too!
Cheers! Joanne
Great recipe!
Congrats to Skater. Tania I was invited to this event too but had so much going on in May that I didn’t go. If I’d known you were going to be there I would definitely have reorganised my plans so I could be there. What a shame as it looks like it was a great night. Archie got his black licence a few days ago so is now asking to drive his father’s 1967 V8 Mustang – taking it up to Palm Beach today with the top down and his girlfriend in the passenger seat. I don’t know where he’ll find the money for petrol! xx
Oh that scares me…..wish you did go
Oh my, what a lovely recipe. My kids resist cauli with every fibre of their being, but this looks wonderful – I can’t wait to give it a go!
That would be interesting if they ate it. Mine has always tolerated cauliflower , to my surprise( because he hates everything else)
I did not think I would ever crave anything with cauliflower in it, but I’m craving this soup right now. I think the macadamias and crispy pancetta on the top is helping 😉
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe and link for more macadamia recipes.
It is delicious and the cauliflower isn’t really overpowering
Glorious plating for a pale colored cauliflowe soup,
never combine with it with nuts before, tempting to try..