Served many years ago in one of the suburbs of New Orleans. It’s origin comes from an old Italian recipe cooked by a Cajun chef, in a small Italian restaurant located in Fat City.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 strip (1 oz.) bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup fennel root, diced
- ½ cup shallots
- 2 ½ cups cauliflower, cleaned and cored
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup wine
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 pint oysters
- 1 cup whipped cream
- Caviar, optional
- 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
- Sprigs of chervil
Directions:
In a medium soup pot brown the bacon to a crisp for about 3-5 minutes. Remove the bacon, and set aside. In the same pot, add the olive oil, fennel root, shallots and cauliflower; sauté for a few minutes. Next add the garlic; continue to cook for about a minute or until you can start to smell the garlic.
Deglaze with wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and cauliflower, thyme, bay leaf and cook until it is soft and mushy (approx. 1 hour).
On a plate, chop half of the oyster, reserving the oysters. Strain the liquid into the soup pot, adding the other half of the oysters and whipping cream. Bring to boil and cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. If using a blender, allow to cool first.
Strain the soup, through a fine sieve, into your serving bowl. Transfer the soup back to the soup pot adding the butter, nutmeg, reserved chopped oysters and bacon. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
Ladle the hot soup back into serving bowl and top with sprig of chervil, sprinkle with chives and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top. You can add a small dollop of caviar on top for garnish.
Big Bobby's Stuff 