Puree soups, as a separate type of soups, I really love. There is a certain charm in their uniformity and creaminess, which is sometimes very pleasing. Plus, fantasy works when there is a homogeneous, one-color mass in a cup, you start to figure out how to decorate such a soup. Fried mushrooms, crackers, pieces of greens, drops of oil and everything that is at hand are used. Be sure to generously sprinkle with pepper and season with a piece of butter or grated cheese.

Chef Frederic (Frederic Eyrier, has a Michelin star) told me this recipe when I was visiting him in Seoul (Pierre Restaurant at the Lotte Hotel, South Korea). The soup is made quite quickly and simply, but, thanks to the emphasis on toast, it comes out unexpectedly tasty. And how could it be otherwise when a star chef prepares a dish in the restaurant's favorite kitchen.

We agreed to meet at 11 am. I arrived a little earlier, and Frederic, on the contrary, was a little late. He ran into the hall to me and said: “I haven’t had breakfast yet, let’s go quickly and cook something hearty.” He loves cauliflower very much, so they cooked it. Soon there will be a review of my trip to Seoul and a story about Pierre restaurant and chef Frederic.

Interesting: many people think that the name cauliflower comes from the fact that cabbage has some unusual color. But it's not. Cauliflower is called because they do not eat leaves, but inflorescences. It is the inflorescences that are most valuable in cauliflower. Several thousand small inflorescences, when cabbage ripens, gather into a dense ball of light, slightly yellowish or greenish color.

Finely chop the onion, a couple of medium potatoes and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Make mashed potatoes anyway, so cut smaller, it will cook faster.

Heat olive oil (50 g) and butter (25 g) in a saucepan over medium heat. Maybe not everyone knows yet, but olive oil withstands temperatures very well, so it saves cream from burning. And in the end, we will have a delicious and fragrant frying.

We pour out our cutting of their onions, potatoes and garlic.

Saute this mixture until the onion is translucent. At this time, cut a kilogram of cauliflower. You can take both frozen (it makes no sense to thaw it further), and fresh. From the second aroma and taste will be more interesting.

Pour olive oil (30 g) and melted butter (30 g) into a small mold.

There is also good mustard (2 tablespoons), grated Gruyère (20 g, there are problems with it now, so I took parmesan) and “yesterday's” baguette chopped into a small cube (100 g).

Mix well. Ideally, you need to take such a form that the bread in it lies evenly in one layer. You can just do it on the contrary.

We put in the oven at 180 degrees, stirring occasionally, bring to a golden crust. It's 5 minutes.

At this time, the onion is already cooked and we add our cauliflower.

Pour in chicken broth (1.5 l, you can vegetable or boiling water).

The boss has everything calculated to the centimeter. Came out a nice pot.

Cook until potatoes or cabbage are soft. We take it off the stove. Add milk (200 g) and grated Gruyère (100 g, take what you have). Puree with a blender until smooth. Add the remaining butter (25 g). You can not pour out all the milk, but regulate the thickness of the soup with it.

Pour and serve with crispy croutons. And a dash of olive oil. You can split the soup ingredients in half as you will end up with a very large pot.