Ready to make the purple cauliflower velouté? You will fall in love with it, promise! The colour, the aroma, the texture… in short, I fell head over heels in love with it, and think that I had never bought it before reading the recipe a few weeks ago in a vegetarian cookbook. So here I am with a new recipe!
I will explain, step by step, how to prepare the cauliflower velouté, starting from the potato, cooking in a pot with water and lemon, up to plating. We will also prepare croutons from stale bread together, perfect to accompany today’s velouté.
An easy, quick and delicious recipe as we like it: a lactose-free vegetarian side dish. If you have guests during the Christmas holidays, you can impress them by serving this velouté as an appetizer, accompanied by cold cuts and cheeses. And don’t forget some bread for the final dip!
This winter vegetable is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, fiber and minerals. Cauliflower is an economical ingredient: if you think about it, it costs roughly the same as potatoes. It is born from the union of broccoli and cauliflower types; there is also a variety called Violetto di Sicilia, cultivated in the province of Catania. It is a versatile vegetable in the kitchen: you can use it both raw and cooked, and it is very eye-catching thanks to its distinctive colour.
Over the years I’ve proposed many veloutés; below you’ll find some of them. Each link is clickable and will take you directly to the recipe you choose to read. Among these you’ll also find another super colourful velouté: the purple carrot velouté with Greek yogurt, irresistible!
Now let’s move on to the recipe and the video recipe to prepare together the purple cauliflower velouté!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4Servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 66.95 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.63 (g) of which sugars 3.09 (g)
- Proteins 3.14 (g)
- Fat 2.77 (g) of which saturated 0.54 (g)of which unsaturated 0.11 (g)
- Fibers 3.32 (g)
- Sodium 144.67 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 160 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for four servings of purple cauliflower velouté
- 21 oz cauliflower (purple)
- 1 potato (very small)
- to taste onion (or shallot, finely chopped)
- 3/4 cup water (or vegetable broth)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (generous)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Notes on the ingredient list: the amount of finely chopped onion is about 10 grams (about 0.35 oz). I used white onion, but yellow onion will work well too. Alternatively, you can use a shallot. The teaspoon of lemon juice should be generous: it will help preserve the purple colour of the cauliflower. You will not taste the lemon or a strong acidic note, so add it freely.
Tools to prepare purple cauliflower velouté
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Blender
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Frying pan
Steps for the purple cauliflower velouté recipe
I start the preparation by peeling the potato. I chose a very small potato, because we need the starch from it to help thicken the velouté. I remove the skin with a peeler, then cut it into very small dice. I finely chop the white onion or the yellow onion into small pieces. I wash the cauliflower, remove the stem and the leaves, then cut it with a very sharp knife into not-too-small pieces, since it will cook in the pot for at least 30 minutes.
I pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into the pot, place it on the stovetop and sauté the chopped onion over low heat. When the onion has softened, I add the potato pieces. I let them cook for about five minutes.
I stir with a wooden spoon and then add the roughly chopped purple cauliflower. I add the measured water and the teaspoon of lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. I close the pot with the lid and let it cook for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Meanwhile, I prepare the croutons from stale bread.
I take three slices of stale bread, cut them into cubes and put them in a small bowl. I sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I toss and transfer everything to a nonstick frying pan. I place it on the stovetop over low heat, cover with the lid and let them cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. The croutons should become nicely golden and crispy.
Once the cauliflower has finished cooking, I can proceed. I place the blender on the work surface, pour the still-warm cauliflower into the bowl and reduce it to a purée. If needed, I add a little more water or vegetable broth. I pour into the serving bowls and garnish with the ready-made bread croutons.
I am ready to serve the purple cauliflower velouté to my family or guests! I just have to wish you a buon appetito and remind you that I wait for you every day on my blog with many easy, quick and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and variations for the purple cauliflower velouté recipe
Tips: as anticipated, let the purple cauliflower cook over low heat with the indicated amount of water, keeping the lid on during the whole cooking time. Then pass the cooked cauliflower through the blender; you can also use an immersion blender for this recipe. If necessary, add a little water or more vegetable broth if you prefer a thinner consistency. If you want a dramatic colour effect, add a few drops of lemon juice even after plating the velouté: you will see the spots touched by the lemon change colour again, becoming almost a bright fuchsia.
Variations: if you don’t have white onion, you can use yellow onion or shallot. If you don’t have vegetable broth, like I did this morning, use water. If you wish, you can add herbs and spices during the cooking of the cauliflower in the pot. If you will serve this velouté as an appetizer, you can add a tablespoon in each bowl of spreadable cheese. It will make the velouté creamier, but remember that doing so it will no longer be a strictly vegetarian dish. You can choose a plant-based spreadable cheese if you have guests or family members who are lactose intolerant.
