In the traditional Hungarian soup karfiolleves, cauliflower is traditionally cooked in a paprika broth; roasting it first, however, gives the soup a greater depth of flavour. Nokedli are Hungarian mini dumplings that are delicious fried in butter and scattered on top.
Hungarian paprika-spiced cauliflower soup
Hungary's karfiolleves - a cauliflower and paprika broth - was the inspiration for this soup. The nokedli on top are a hearty and, in our opinion essential, finishing touch.
- 40 mins preparation
- 1 hr 20 mins cooking
- Serves 4 - 6
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Ingredients
- 110 gm butter, coarsely chopped
- 1 kg cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika, plus extra, to serve
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock
- To serve: sour cream and lemon wedges
- ¼ cup each (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley and dill
Nokedli
- 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- For tossing: olive oil
Method
- 1For nokedli, combine flour in a bowl with 1 tsp fine sea salt. Add eggs and 100ml cold water and stir to make a thick batter (it will not be smooth). Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Using a spatula, push batter through a colander in batches into the saucepan and cook until nokedli float to the surface (1-2 minutes). Drain well, toss in a little oil, spread on a tray and set aside. These can be made a couple of hours ahead and refrigerated until required.
- 2Preheat oven to 180C. Melt 50gm butter in a small saucepan, then transfer to a large bowl, add cauliflower, half the garlic, thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper and lemon rind, stir to combine, season to taste, then scatter over oven trays lined with baking paper and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is golden (40-45 minutes).
- 3Heat 30gm butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté (4 minutes), then add remaining garlic and stir until fragrant (2 minutes). Add stock, season to taste and bring to the simmer. Add roasted cauliflower, reserving ½ cup to garnish, then simmer until tender and flavours combine (12-15 minutes). Purée with a hand-held blender until smooth, season to taste and keep warm.
- 4Heat remaining butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add nokedli in batches and fry until golden (3-4 minutes), transfer to a plate and season to taste.
- 5Serve soup hot, topped with nokedli, reserved cauliflower, sour cream, herbs, lemon wedges for squeezing and extra paprika.
Notes
Drink Suggestion: Bone-dry, minerally white grüner veltliner. Drink suggestion by Max Allen.
