Soups and sandwiches – on their own they’re stalwarts of the British lunch menu. Put them together, though, and you have a feast to get excited about. Pollyanna Coupland from our food team has fond childhood memories of her mum unveiling clever combos – and she’s ready to spread the soup-and-sando love now she’s all grown-up
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND PHOTOGRAPHS TOM SHINGLER
Curried cauliflower soup with spiced egg mayo
Serves 2 Hands-on time 25 min Simmering time 30 min
Spice is a cauliflower’s best friend. Here, cauli is whizzed into a creamy soup, topped with crunchy croutons and served with a lightly spiced egg mayo sarnie on the side. This is a winning combo on chilly days – and nights.
DON’T WASTE IT
Cauliflower leaves are great drizzled with oil and roasted in a hot oven. Serve them with this soup or with any dish that usually has greens on the side.
• 1 small cauliflower
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste (from large supermarkets)
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder, plus a pinch
• 1 medium potato, finely sliced
• 600ml vegetable stock
• Knob of unsalted butter
• ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp crème fraîche (optional)
• Squeeze lemon juice
For the sandwiches
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• ½ punnet cress
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 large lettuce leaves
• 5 slices white bread
1 Cut the cauliflower into florets and finely chop the stalk. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then cook the chopped onion, chopped cauliflower stalk, garlic & ginger paste and curry powder for about 6 minutes. Add the potato, cauli florets and stock. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, make the sandwiches. Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, then run under cold water, peel and roughly chop. Mix the chopped eggs with the mayonnaise, cress, turmeric and another pinch of curry powder, then divide between 2 slices of bread. Add a lettuce leaf to each one and close the sandwiches with 2 more slices of bread.
3 Remove the crusts from the remaining slice of bread, then slice the bread into 1cm cubes. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat, then add the croutons with a pinch of salt and the mustard seeds. Tip the frying pan so the bread is covered by the foaming butter and cook until you have golden, crisp croutons (about 4 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper.
4 When the soup is ready, add the crème fraîche (if using) and use a stick blender to whizz the mixture until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Divide the soup between bowls with the croutons and mustard seeds sprink
