Hetty McKinnon's cauliflower soup with smoky baba ghanoush recipe

Many years ago, I created a salad of roasted cauliflower served with smoky baba ghanoush, topped with pomegranate seeds and pomegranate molasses (the recipe is in my first book, Community). To this day, that salad remains one of my all-time favourites, an absolute triumph of texture and flavour.

This is the soupy incarnation of that salad – creamy cauliflower teamed with smoky eggplant, topped with a few pomegranate seeds and walnuts for good measure. Baba ghanoush is one of my favourite food hacks, adding creaminess to just about any soup.

Cauliflower soup with smoky eggplant and pomegranate

serves 4

extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 brown onion, diced
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cauliflower head (about 800 g), cut into florets
1.25 litres (5 cups) vegetable stock
handful of pomegranate seeds
1⁄2 cup toasted walnuts, crushed
handful of coriander leaves (optional)
sea salt and black pepper

Smoky baba ghanoush
1 eggplant
3 tbsp tahini
1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1⁄4 lemon
sea salt and black pepper

To make the smoky baba ghanoush, char the eggplant on the open flames of a gas hob, on the barbecue or under a very hot grill.

Turn the eggplant until the skin is charred all over and the flesh inside is soft – if the outside is charred before the flesh is completely soft, place the eggplant in a hot oven and roast for 5–10 minutes, until it is completely tender.

Allow the eggplant to cool for 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, carefully peel the charred skin off the eggplant and place the flesh in a small bowl. Add the tahini, garlic and oil and stir with a fork to break up the eggplant slightly, keeping it chunky. Squeeze over the lemon juice and season with a big pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

Heat the oil in large pan. Once warm, add the garlic, onion, coriander and cumin, and season with sea salt. Cook for 2–3 minutes on medium heat, until the onion is translucent. Add the cauliflower florets and stock. Increase the heat, bring to a gentle, rolling simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes, uncovered, until the cauliflower is very tender.

Use a hand-held blender – or transfer to a blender – and whizz the soup up until very smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a big spoonful of the smoky eggplant and a scattering of pomegranate seeds, walnuts and coriander leaves, if using.

Tip: If you are short on time, use good-quality, store-bought baba ghanoush

• This is an edited extract from Family by Hetty McKinnon (Plum, $39.99). Next week, Hetty’s recipe for green bean tahini casserole