Creamy Cauliflower And Saffron Soup

The winter in Athens this year has been mild, but lately it’s been windy and rainy and by my standards cold! I can already hear my friends in New York and Berlin telling me I don’t know the meaning of the word cold, as they have been enduring sub zero temperatures… Still for me this is ‘soup- weather‘. There is nothing more perfect for this time of year than a seasonal soup! It is so simple and nutritious so here goes:

Ingredients:

5 saffron threads

2 medium sized cauliflower heads

2 medium or small potatoes (warning: don’t buy potatoes from Thiva – they are contaminated-more about this later!)

2 leeks

1 garlic clove

Instructions:

Leave the saffron threads to soak in filtered water for 2 to 12 hours (they will expand greatly during this time). You will later add the threads+water (which will have turned a beautiful color) to your soup.

Scrub the potatos clean with a hard bristle brush and chop them coarsely. Put them in a pot with just enough water to cover them and boil for about fifteen minutes. Chop up the remaining ingredients – they are going to be blended so you shouldn’t worry about cutting them finely.  Add the rest of the ingredients (even the green leaves of the cauliflower) and the saffron + water into the pot of boiling potatos. Boil until all the veggies are soft (or steamed). Once they are soft enough to blend, blend them all together! Serve with a generous sprinkle of extra virgin raw olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and coarse black pepper. Told you it was easy peasy lemon squeezy 🙂