Rover's, Seattle, Washington
from Rover’s: Recipes from Seattle’s Chef in the Hat

I never thought of cauliflower as a good candidate for roasting. But my good friend and Seattle’s most popular chef, Tom Douglas, proved otherwise to me one night with a dinner at his house. That’s the inspiration for the centerpiece around which this simple—but amazingly flavorful—soup is served. Freshly juiced carrots and ginger will produce the best results here. If you don’t have a juicer, you can cheat with store-bought 100% carrot juice. For the ginger juice, you can very finely grate a large piece of fresh, young ginger onto a plate, then transfer the ginger pulp to a fine sieve and press with the back of a spoon to extract the juice. Older ginger has a tough, stringy texture from which it will be harder to extract juice. 

The recommended wine is René Muré 2001 Pinot Blanc “Côte de Rouffach,” France.

1/4 large head (about 1/2 pound) cauliflower 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper 2 cups fresh carrot juice (from about 2 1/2 pounds carrots) 1/4 cup fresh ginger juice (from about 1/4 pound fresh ginger) 2/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the cauliflower into small florets, trimming away excess stalk. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the cauliflower and toss gently in the oil. Sprinkle the cauliflower with the thyme and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat with the seasonings, then transfer the skillet to the oven and roast, stirring once or twice, until the cauliflower is lightly browned, tender, and aromatic, 18 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the carrot and ginger juices in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and whisk in the chilled butter, a few pieces at a time, so that it melts creamily into the soup. Season to taste with salt and keep the soup warm over low heat until ready to serve.

To serve, form a mound of the roasted cauliflower in the center of warm shallow soup bowls and ladle the carrot-ginger soup around.

Makes 4 servings