Cauliflower Soup

How to prepare cauliflower soup

1. Break the cauliflower into florets and then break each floret into smaller florets.
2. Finely chop the onion. Cut the carrots into thin rounds. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot and saute the vegetables over low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft without browning at all (about 15 minutes).
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika and stir to dissolve in the oil in the pot. Add the caraway seeds.
   * if you like caraway and enjoy feeling the seeds in your food, you can use a larger amount and then you won't need to add the ground caraway at the end
4. Add the cauliflower florets and cover with 1.5 liters of water. Grind in plenty of black pepper and add salt to taste.
5. Bring the pot contents to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer covered until the cauliflower is done but not mushy (about 15 minutes; check the smaller florets and when they're done, move to the next step).
7. Transfer about half of the cauliflower to a blender (try to take the smaller florets, leaving the prettier ones in the soup). Blend until finely chopped. Add the sour cream and 1 ladle of hot soup and blend until you have a very smooth puree.
8. Gradually pour this mixture into the soup (make sure it's not boiling), stirring constantly with the ladle while pouring, so it doesn't curdle.
   
9. In a small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and when it sizzles, remove from heat and add the remaining paprika and ground caraway. Stir well to dissolve the seasonings in the oil. Pour this mixture into the soup.
   * traditionally, the soup is not thickened with pureed cauliflower as I did in step 6, but with flour. So, in addition to paprika and caraway in oil, flour is added, essentially making a roux that will thicken the soup.
   ** in some regions, paprika is not used at all in this soup, leaving it white

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