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Cooking Notes
Barbaraben
I upped the ginger to a five inch piece with 3 inches minced in the soup and two inches minced in the relish. I also added a shake of chili pepper and freshly ground black pepper to the soup. It was flavorful but the leftovers reheated the next day were excellent. Next time, I'll cook this soup a day in advance.
Carol in Queens
I've made this soup twice. Once as a first course for friends, and then as an hors d'oeuvre for a private chef job, passed in little cordial glasses. It's silky, elegant and delicious. The ginger scallion relish is key, don't skip it. I agree with other reviewers that, as written, the lemon grass and ginger flavors are not strong enough. I tripled the amount of ginger and lemon grass, and made my own veg. broth too, that also had ginger and lemon grass. Got rave reviews! Love this soup.
Jim
I agree with Joy that the ginger and lemongrass was very subtle, so I added more fresh ginger at the end and hit it with the immersion blender. Added/blended until it was just right.The relish is terrific; make extra.
Jill
Hi NY Times Cooking, I have a request: please when you write "1 medium russet potato, diced" please add in, as you do sometimes, "about 1.5 cups diced" (or whatever the measurement is.)With the supersizing/selective breeding of veggies and fruits, the size range that say, an onion, can come in is now very broad, and over time I forget what 'one onion' looks like. Its especially challenging when I'm using produce that I'm not at all familiar with.Many, may thanks!
cate
I didn't have lemongrass, but was told that the zest of one lemon can substitute for 2 stalks of lemongrass.
Joy
Delicious and creative! The lemongrass and ginger flavorings were very subtle, however, so I’ll add more next time.
Passionate Cook
Followed the recipe to a T, except added more ginger. Just loved the soup. Will make again and again. The relish was fantastic. I made extra, May use it for a salad dressing. I love NY Times recipes, have made quite a few and have saved loads of them. First time writing a note, though. Love reading all the notes that others add to recipes.
Mary
I had two heads of cauliflower, so made a double batch. No potatoes. Noting comment that lemongrass flavor was too mild, I did the following: used four nice thick lemongrass stalks, and instead of smashing them to flavor the oil, I removed the coarse layers, chopped them into 1/2" pieces, and sauteed them along with the gingerroot (chopped, not grated). After cooking soup, I strained it. Instead of scallions, I chopped about 6 shallots. No cilantro or limes. Delicious and sophisticated!
Frank
Relish was an amazing addition. Used less ginger, but will definitely use more next time. No lemongrass so I used some lemon juice, which was just fine. Added an onion, which I believed helped both favor and texture.
loumorri
Agreed needs more ginger and lemongrass...just used a small skinny stalk puréed ...not to enuf! Terry would like some bits of cauliflower and potato left I. The soup. Added more water for texture of a thick milkshake since it had cooked down quite a bit. Grated zest of 2 limes may have give. It a slightly bitter taste if there was pith in it. Otherwise very good..and filling.
S.
This looks delightful and I can't wait to try it. Will season more aggressively with the ginger than indicated here, and will use the lemon verbena from my garden in place of lemon grass. In case you don't know, the two have the same lovely perfume and taste and smell EXACTLY the same! Just pick off a handful or so of the leaves and add them along with the stock in Step 1. Remove as you would the lemon grass in Step 3. I actually prefer the verbena and it's easy to grow in pots.
Judi
The relish completely overpowered the soup. We tried adding a tiny amount of coconut milk to give it a richer mouth feel since it was grainy. The ginger and lemon grass were a nice idea and I expected it to taste like a thai soup I'd had. The relish was good on the bread we dipped into it but on the soup it gave it an overwhelming vinegary taste. I the future we'll stick with making potato leek soup but perhaps add cauliflower to it since we like reducing carbs with vegetables.
tcf
The ginger scallion relish is key, don't skip it. I agree with other reviewers that, as written, the lemon grass and ginger flavors are not strong enough. I tripled the amount of ginger and lemon grass
elyn
Used lemon zest instead of lemon grassParsley instead of cilantroAdded garlic chives because I didn’t have enough scallionsUsed 1/2 sunflower seed oil and half avocado oilNext time more ginger and lemon zest or lemon grassEven so delicious
Ruth
I cooked this Sunday night and served it today. I used two stalks of lemongrass - would probably use more next time, and maybe a little more ginger. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. I enjoyed the soup but did not care for the sherry vinegar in the relish, so I will omit it the next time.
AllisonT
Soup is really good. I made a judgment error: since i cooked the soup to freeze in single portions for work from home lunches, I knew the relish wouldn't last for weeks in the fridge. So i blended it into the soup. Made soup WAY too vinegary. Now when I eat a portion, i add a generous dose of cream, half and half or plainyogurt to mute the acidic bite. Won't make that mistake again, oops.
Alan
I doubled the lemongrass and ginger. In addition to the cauliflower added a carrot, parsnip, and used a sweet potato instead of the russet. Roasted the cauliflower, garlic, carrot, parsnip, and sweet potato for 45 minutes at 400. Put the roasted veggies into the chicken broth/lemongrass and ginger bath and continued to soak for an additional 15 minutes. Blended till smooth and then salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Added an additional 1/2 cup of broth to achieve the consistency I wanted.
rebecca
I love this recipe, I’ve made it often. The real MVP of this recipe though isn’t the soup itself, it’s the “relish”. I’ve made the relish several times since and put it on vegetables, on rice, on congee, I use it often. It’s so good and such a nice zippy condiment to have on hand.
Amber
This is a delicious soup! you can use the entire cauliflower including the leaves, everything but the hardest parts. Vietnamese or Chinese supermarkets have frozen chopped lemongrass. One TB of frozen chopped lemongrass = 2 stalks of fresh lemongrass.
KMLPAVPIIIPHD
Roast the vegetables in coconut oil for 60 minutes at 350° instead of boiling. Flavor is so much richer!
LaSalt
Up the ginger and lemon/lemon peel (didn’t have lemon grass) and I still thought the soup was just ok even with the “relish”. Not bad, of course, but not something I’ll make again.
Laurie
I hate to be one of those cooks, but we modified this heavily. Doubled the lemongrass. Subbed a can of coconut milk for half the broth. Finally, we only sort of did the relish - we had the Francis Lam ginger scallion oil already in our fridge, so we subbed that instead and added some cilantro and lime. I didn't think it needed the sherry vinegar or the honey. Lovely soup - love the lemongrass with the cauliflower.
AlexC
Second double ginger and garlic, and a little splash of truffle oil gives it the perfect lift.
linda
Did not like this. I added xtra ginger and lemongrass as others recommended. The color and texture were unappealing. The topping- yes. Very good. Makes quite a bit.
Ashley Congemi
I increased the ginger as other have suggested, it was fantastic. The relish is a must, and it goes so perfect with the soup. I would recommend not putting too much relish in your bowl as I did, I had to "dilute" my bowl of soup with more soup. I served the meal with crabcakes which went perfect with the ginger and the citrus of the soup. Will make again.
Anthony
Sadly my family found this soup to be lacking in flavor. Even with the garnish, it was underwhelming. I note others saying they increased the ginger, added other ingredients, and maybe that's the trick.
cate
I make this soup often in the winter. It's an immunity powerhouse. For ease, I use a lemongrass paste for cooking. Everything else is fresh. Using a food processor makes this a breeze. I've added 1-3 carrots to the soup. I use olive oil instead of the oil they call for in the soup. Definitely use more garlic and ginger. My French family loves this soup...and they are picky eaters.
Abby M
The video on this recipe includes toasted sesame seeds in the topping, but I'm not seeing them in the actual recipe. Should they be added?
Zuzana
Simply the best soup! So fresh and delicious.
Liz
Will make again. Doubled ginger & lemongrass & better 2nd day.
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