Saffron And Cauliflower Soup & Braised Romaine Lettuce

Gordon Ramsay's family fare cook book challenge day 29:

*Saffron And Cauliflower Soup & Braised Romaine Lettuce

Similar recipe online, but the book is so worth it :http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cream-of-Cauliflower-Soup-with-Saffron-107622

First, a riddle, what spice is nearly half the price of  gold?
Answer: saffron.
This exotic spice is the most expensive spice in the world.  I bought a little bottle saffron, it has 0.5g in it and it cost me 13$. Looking at the bottle, mysteriously , there is no spice in the bottle instead a folded letter is in the bottle, reminds you people use to put important letters in a sealed bottle for deliver. Open the bottle, pick out the letter and carefully open it,and surprise! there is another envelope in it! Ok, this time open the little waxed envelope, finally you find the bits of saffron strains laying in it like little red alien hair.

The soup tasted good, creamy and the saffron was indeed a highlight in this dish since there are few flavors except the spice( it has milk and cauliflower which are not very strong in taste). The spice has a strong flavor that can fill up your whole mouth and make sure all your tasting buds knows it, the husband said it taste like lobster lol. Except being kind pricey, the soup was delicious and only took 20 minutes to make.

A trick here, do not over cook the cauliflower, cook it until it just start to soften as the book said. Overcooked cauli or broccoli will lead to a bitter taste.

Not much words on the braised romaine lettuce, quite basic, stock boiled lettuce...