Cauliflower Velouté with Caviar

Blend 800g of prepared cauliflower into four spoonable starter portions, then finish each bowl with 15g of crème fraîche and 5g of Imperial Gold Special Reserve. This is a velouté-style soup rather than a firm cauliflower purée, and one 20g tin covers all four servings.

• Serving plan: 4 bowls; divide the finished soup evenly
• Caviar: 5g per bowl
• Crème fraîche: 15g per bowl

Ingredients and pack calculation

Equipment

• Heavy saucepan with lid
• Chef's knife, board and digital scale
• Stick blender or heat-safe jug blender
• Fine sieve, ladle and 1-litre measuring jug
• Four warmed bowls and clean caviar spoon

Turn the cauliflower into velouté

1. Cut for even cooking. Divide the cauliflower into similarly sized florets and slice the tender stem. Discard tough leaves and core sections.
2. Soften the shallot. Melt the butter over low heat. Add the shallot and cook gently until flexible but not browned.
3. Simmer under a lid. Add the cauliflower and stock. Cover, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the thickest stem piece crushes easily against the pan side.
4. Blend in stages. Process the soup within the blender's hot-liquid limit. Add the milk gradually, stopping when the mixture is smooth and pourable.
5. Refine and portion. Pass through the sieve, measure the total and return it to clean heat. Divide the finished soup evenly between four bowls once it is cooked and hot through; the final volume depends on consistency and straining.
6. Add chilled toppings last. Wait until active surface bubbling has stopped. Place 15g crème fraîche at the centre of each bowl and top with 5g Imperial Gold.

Keep it distinct from cauliflower purée

The result should flow from a ladle and provide four measured soup portions. If it holds a rigid mound like a side-dish purée, add warm milk in 15ml increments until the consistency is pourable. If it is watery, reduce the untopped soup gently before portioning rather than adding flour.

Useful corrections

• Small grains remain: blend only within the equipment limit, then use the fine sieve rather than extending the blend indefinitely.
• The soup has browned flecks: lower the heat at the shallot stage and keep the cauliflower covered during simmering.
• Four bowls are not equal: measure the finished volume in the jug before ladling and divide it by four.
• The caviar disappears below the surface: place the measured crème fraîche first and use it as a stable platform.

Allergens and holding boundary

The named products contribute fish and milk. Vegetable stock can contain celery, gluten or other allergens; read the current pack labels for every ingredient and preserve cross-contact wording. Keep the caviar and crème fraîche under their exact chilled-storage directions. Serve the topped soup promptly. Keep the toppings separate from any unserved soup and follow the exact labels for opened products. Do not leave the topped bowls standing as a holding method.

Four-bowl portion and purchase check

Four bowls × 5g caviar uses one 20g Imperial Gold tin. Four × 15g crème fraîche uses 60g, leaving 110g from a 170g pot. At the 12 October 2026 catalogue check, those available packs were £38 and £6, or £44 together before the soup ingredients and checkout charges.

Use the prepared 800g cauliflower weight rather than assuming every whole head is the same size. Add the milk gradually and divide the actual finished soup by four. A thinner or thicker finish changes volume, so there is no fixed 250ml yield promise.

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