DAILY DINNERS

Quarter the cauliflower so you can easily cut out the central stem. Chop the remainder roughly.

Melt the butter for the soup in a large saucepan. When it bubbles add the onion and soften over a gentle heat for a few mins, stirring regularly. When it looks translucent, add the cauliflower, cover the pan and cook for a further 5-6 mins, shaking the pan once or twice.

Add the milk, raise the heat slightly and simmer, partially covered, for 20 mins until the cauliflower is soft enough to puree easily. Let stand for 5-10 mins, then liquidise in a blender or food processor. You can make ahead to this point: leave to cool and refrigerate for up to a day or freeze for up to a month.

To make the garnish, boil the eggs for 8-9 mins, drain and leave to cool. Cub the bread and process the crumbs. Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan, add the crumbs and fry over a medium heat till golden brown. Keep moving the crumbs about to colour them evenly, adding the second knob of butter if the crumbs soak up the first lot. Tip the crisped crumbs onto kitchen paper.

Shell and halve the eggs. Separate yolks from whites and push through a sieve or chop both very finely with a fork.

To serve, reheat the soup. Mix crumbs, egg yolks and whites with the chopped parsley. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and sprinkle about 1 tbsp of the garnish in the middle of each. Serve the extra garnishes on the table so people can take more with a second helping of soup.