THIS week’s recipe is for a real restaurant soup that I tried recently at one of my favourite restaurants – the Oak Tree Inn in the tiny village of Hutton Magna, near Barnard Castle.

Chef Alastair Ross owns and runs the Oak Tree along with his lovely wife Claire.

Eating there last week, I asked Claire how Alastair made the sublime cauliflower and parmesan cheese soup. She just said “Oh, it’s easy” and promptly produced a letterhead on which the recipe was printed. So I made it at home and it was delicious. And easy. And here it is.

Ingredients:

Serves Four

One cauliflower cut into florets

A few sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together

500ml double cream

500ml good quality chicken stock

100g parmesan cheese – finely grated

A little truffle oil

Salt and pepper if necessary

Method:

Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the cauliflower is just cooked and tender to the point of a sharp knife; probably between five and eight minutes.

Strain off most of the liquid, reserving the rest, and remove the thyme before adding the parmesan. Either using a liquidiser, food processor or stick blender, puree the cauliflower and parmesan, adding more liquid as necessary to acquire a consistency not unlike that of a thin cream. Taste and season with pepper as required but beware, because of the cheese, it may not need salt.

Spoon into warmed soup dishes and drizzle on a little truffle oil; the resulting smell of which just completes the dish.