A big pot of Serbian cauliflower corba (pronounced chore-bah) graced my family table the other night for Week #2 of our weekly soup/stew/stoup night. The timing for this heart-warming soup couldn’t have better what with the rainy, chilly days we had. The ease of preparation was also spot on as I was playing beat the clock. Sooo glad I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge — this meal came together in 40 minutes, start to finish.
I know there are endless recipes for cauliflower soup floating around cyberspace so you may be asking what makes Serbian cauliflower soup different?
1. The thickening comes from a small bit of roux (that I grew up calling zafrig) as well as a small potato. No heavy cream, no whole milk. My arteries and yours give thanks.
2. This soup is as delicious with chicken stock as it is with vegetable broth. The latter is the only change necessary to made this creamy cauliflower soup vegan.
3. The addition of one fresh tomato, diced, gives this cauliflower soup the palest of pale pink hues and a barely detectable tomato flavor. Why bother adding it? It is an opportunity to add another veggie rather stealthily … specifically for fresh tomato haters. The one in my brood never knew it! Ha! I’m such a sneaky mama!
Prijatno, my friends! Enjoy!
- 2 tablespoon oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, cut into thin coins
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium potato, diced
- 1 medium to large head of cauliflower, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 quart chicken stock or vegetable broth
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- In a soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Fry onion until golden; add carrot and celery and saute 1-2 minutes.
- Add the diced potato, cauliflower, tomato, thyme and black pepper. Saute another minute.
- Add chicken stock or vegetable broth. If the vegetables are not covered, add 1 cup of water.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
- Taste and salt to your liking, but watch that shaker! 🙂
- When the vegetables are tender, make a roux by heating 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir well. Add 1 ladle of soup broth to the roux and whisk until smooth.
- Add the complete roux mixture to the soup pot and stir. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- To make an even thicker soup, blend half of it using a hand mixer or a blender.
- Adjust seasonings to taste before serving.
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