Random ingredient recipe (and low-carb idea): Cauliflower straciatella soup

Last night our fridge was empty, save a few random items. We had several heads of cauliflower, a half dozen eggs and a variety of cheeses including a Pecorino-Romano. In the freezer we had an open one litre container of chicken stock. For reasons I cannot explain, when confronted with a random assortment of ingredients like this, I've been known to dream up some peculiar recipe ideas. Behold my Cauliflower Straciatella Soup! (Please scroll down to see my approximate preparation instructions)

What you'll need:

• 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower, crumbled (see note below)
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 3 cups of water
• nutmeg to taste
• 4 eggs, beaten
• dried parsley flakes or fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, to taste
• about 3/4 cup of loosely-packed shredded pecorino-romano cheese, or to taste
• salt and pepper

Note about crumbled cauliflower: Crumble the cauliflower with your hands as best you can until it resemble a very coarsely crumbled feta (very small chunks). Because we're going for the coarse crumbled texture of the florets, set aside any excess stalk or stems as you do this (save them for a veggie stock or for steaming as a side if you like).

Put the stock, water, cauliflower and nutmeg in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, pour in the beaten eggs and use a fork to quickly stir the egg mixture up in the pot and spread it evenly throughout the soup. Add the parsley. Lower the heat slightly to a brisk simmer (medium-high heat) and continue to cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, until the cauliflower become soft but not mushy. Remove from heat. Sprinkle or shred in the pecorino romano and season with salt and pepper to taste.

With this recipe I discovered that cauliflower, nutmeg and sharp cheese happen to complement each other quite nicely, based on a suggestion from one of my new favourite books, The Food Thesaurus. With that said, I will admit that judged solely based on it aroma, most people would likely pass over this soup. Cauliflower and sharp cheese are both rather strong smelling ingredients, but when it comes to flavour, there's something about this mixture of ingredients that just seems to work.

Personally, I love it; Nat has yet to try it.