Curried Cauliflower Soup

 

I allowed myself to be tempted into buying a huge bag of cauliflower florets the last time I was at Costco. (I also bought a huge bag of broccoli!)  There are worse things I could have been tempted by, let me tell you! That place is a veritable Aladdin's cave of scruminess. Don't get me started on the cakes, pies and muffins.  I have never bought them, but boy oh boy are they ever tempting! Its only because there are only two of us and I have limited freezer space that keeps me from caving in and buying those! (Especially the muffins!)  So anyways, I reckon buying big bags of vegetables is not all that bad of a temptation to succumb to in comparison! 

It does mean that you need to use them up though!

 

This is a beautiful soup.  Curried Cauliflower Soup. It also happens to be the soup I ended up having to scrape off our carpet the other day when Todd fell, but thankfully it is lovely and thick, so that wasn't too much of a problem!  It was so delicious Todd wanted two helpings and that was where the trouble started!  The hardest part of the cleanup was keeping Mitzie away from it!  I wasn't sure what curried cauliflower might do to her digestive system, although I know she would have happily gobbled it up for sure.

  

Its a simple and yet flavorful soup,  and let me tell you . . . with the cold front that has moved in from Siberia this week here in the UK, it went down a real treat!  It uses things most of you will already have in your larder and spice cabinet!

 

The recipe is adapted from one I found in the cookerybook entitled The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special, which is filled with a beautiful collection of vegetarian soups and stews, salads and extras. 

 

I think the most unusual ingredients might be the green chili and the fresh ginger root.  I am one who generally keeps a few chilies and a knob of ginger root in my refrigerator, but I can well appreciate that many don't.  Often when I get a good price on green chilies, I will buy a bunch and roast them, and freeze them, or chop and freeze them in ice cube trays, popping the frozen blocks into a zip lock bag to keep in the freezer ready to use whenever I need some.

 

I did not include the seeds from the chili in this soup because I didn't want it to be overly hot, but if you are not afraid of heat, do include some.   I also had a nice bunch of fresh coriander leaf to use as well, but I am sure dried coriander leaf would also work well. It just would not be as pretty. I loved the flecks of bright green in an otherwise not too pretty soup.

 

The flavours are amazing though  . . . cinnamon, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and ginger. There are cauliflower, potato, onions and of course the green chili along with some vegetable stock, and at the very end the fresh coriander leaf, and a touch of lemon juice along with a pinch of sugar. It really was delicious!  I served it with Naan breads.  Yum!

 

*Curried Cauliflower Soup*

Serves 4 to 6

Printable Recipe 

A simple, yet delicious soup with lovely flavours. Serve with Naan Bread or crusty rolls. 

2 TBS flavourless vegetable oil

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 TBS minced fresh green chili (remove seeds for a milder soup)

1 TBS finely grated fresh ginger root

dash of salt

1 tsp ground tumeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

4 medium red or white potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)

1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets (4 cups)

1 tsp salt

960ml vegetable stock or water (4 cups)

50g raw basmati rice (1/4 cup)

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

2 to 3 TBS chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

salt and black pepper to taste

 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add the onions, chilies and ginger root.  Sprinkle with some salt. Cover and cook, stirring now and then, until the onions are softened and translucent. Stir in the tumeric, cumin, coriander and cinnamon.  Cook, stirring constantly, for several minutes until quite fragrant. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, stock (or water), and salt. Bring to the boil, then rinse the rice and add it to the pot. Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables and rice are tender.  Using a stick blender, puree about half of it. (Alternately remove half of it and puree in a blender and then return the puree to the pot.)   Stir in the lemon juice and sugar.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.  Swirl the coriander leaves through and serve immedately.

 

The roasted cauliflower garnish was very simple to do.  I just cut some florets into thin slices and spritzed them with low fat cooking spray and roasted them on baking paper in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes, until they were golden on the edges.  It looked very pretty floating on top of the soup with a coriander leaf on top to accent it.  I hope you will give this delicious soup a try.  I think it is sure to become a new favourite!  Bon Appetit!