Tag Archives: vegan

Spicy Cauliflower Soup

Tags : healthy lunch soup starters vegan vegetables vegetarian winter

Whilst on a cookery course the other day we very kindly got provided with lunch. On offer were a selection of sandwiches and a pan full of soup that smelt amazing! There wasn’t any label on the soup but after lifting the pan lid and looking inside I decided it looked like a creamy chicken soup so got myself a lovely bowl full.

After tucking in and thinking it was an odd tasting chicken soup and expressing my views to my lunch neighbour sat next to me, she kindly told me it was cauliflower soup (she must of had inside information!) Now, if there had been a label next to soup stating it was cauliflower soup I would have turned my nose up! I like cauliflower but not that much.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was enjoying the soup! Wow, I need to make this soup at home so I could eat it again; I felt like I’d been missing out! The soup I had on the workshop was slightly spicy – a hint of curry about it. So I did my best to recreate using our lovely frozen cauliflower florets.

Cauliflower Soup Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil or any other flavourless oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 tsp curry powder ( I used a medium curry powder )
• Pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 800g cauliflower florets ( I used frozen florets but of course you can use fresh)
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock (veg stock to make it veggie friendly)
• 150ml double cream (Cashew Milk to make it vegan friendly)

Method

1. To make the cauliflower soup, heat the oil in a deep pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until  softened and translucent.
2. Add the ground cumin and curry powder and fry for a further 1-2 minutes, or until the spicy smells are released.
3. Add the chopped cauliflower and chicken/vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8-12 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
4. Blend to a purée (I used a stick blender in the saucepan).
5. Return the puréed soup mixture to the pan and add the cream or cashew milk (vegan). Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and warm through for a couple of minutes.
6. Serve with crusty bread and butter. I sprinkled a little dried parsley on top for colour. Enjoy!