Who does the grocery shopping in your home? In mine, it’s me. I do all the meal planning, list writing and online ordering. Mr Toby does the occasional duck to Coles for bread/milk/ice cream/Milo but usually all other hunting and gathering is up to me.

Most of the time I don’t mind, I order what I think we need plus a few specials and some secret treats I choose not to share (nobody else knows they exist in our pantry anyway).

Occasionally I order something we don’t need, or already have plenty of and there’s a bit of arm waving, jumping up and down and complaining about food waste and the cost of living (cue eye roll). Last week I ordered a head of cauliflower. A whole one, not just half wrapped in cling film like I usually do because #waronwaste, forgetting that we already had a quarter in the crisper.

As the groceries were unpacked the arm waving started so I quickly backpedalled with “ahhh yep I’m making cauliflower soup”. I’ve never made anything with cauliflower except to pair it with white sauce next to a roast so there was some skepticism from Mr Toby.

After it had taken up a whole crisper for a week the question was politely raised “are you actually going to DO anything with that bloody thing?” A rapid Google search ensued and I proudly waved the Taste.com.au recipe in his face.

I followed the recipe (kind of, because that’s what I do) and was sent another by a helpful friend which had some interesting twists.

Let me say first, I had very low expectations for this soup. Even lower given how much I actually winged it in the end but oh boy, it’s definitely going to be remade in the future!

The recipe below is my mashed up version. Next time I make it I might throw a rasher of bacon in for good measure too but for now this is my new go to. Best bit? It freezes well for the night you seriously can’t be arsed

Cauliflower Soup

(Adapted from Taste.com.au)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large brown onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 head (1.3kg) cauliflower, cut into florets

• 500g potatoes, chopped

• 1 litre chicken stock

• 1/2 cup pure cream

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1/2 cup parmesan

Step 1
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until onion has softened. Add cauliflower and potato. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Step 2
Add stock. Season with pepper. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in mustard and parmesan. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Step 3
Blend until smooth. Add pure cream. Return to heat and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until heated through.

Serve topped with fried onions or bacon bits