easiest grocery shopping ever
I love it when you can create a whole meal around a single vegetable. Makes planning and grocery shopping so much simpler. Four minutes in and out of the grocery store. Buy a cauliflower and dinner’s practically done. Add some spices (already in the spice drawer), some stock (already in the pantry or freezer) and some bread (if you’re out of bread, it practically makes itself in a breadmaker). See? Creamy curry cauliflower soup, with a side of bread, practically on the table already and you hardly had to think about it.
chop that baby up
A great way to make single vegetable soups more interesting is by pairing them with a complementary spice. See also this post on Carrot Ginger Soup that follows the same idea. If you’ve ever had a curry with cauliflower in it then you know it’s a perfect combo. This recipe is inspired by a recipe from the Food and Wine website. Except that I’m old and a little set in my ways, so the way I roast vegetables and make soups is pretty much the same all the time. So here we go with my version, which is more equally fabulous, if slightly less fancy, also low-cal, and easy to make dairy-free.
just a spoonful of curry
First thing is to core and chop up the cauliflower, and put it in a great big bowl. Toss it with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon each of curry powder and cumin, some coarse salt and ground pepper. You may like the soup with more cumin and curry, but this is enough to coat, and more can be added at the end when you check the seasonings. Now just spread out the coated florets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375° for 25 minutes.
roasted vegetable awesomeness
And while that’s roasting, chop up a small onion and sauté it in a medium saucepan with a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter (or a tablespoon of oil only to make it dairy-free). Add the roasted cauliflower, four cups of stock, and a bay leaf, and bring the pot to a simmer. Keep simmering until the vegetables are soft, about fifteen minutes.
diinneeeeerrr!
Then take your immersion blender and puree until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender and you ever make soups, then buy one. Take my word for it, even an inexpensive one will save you precious prep time.) Taste test it and add seasonings if you like. Serve with pieces of naan or other bread and enjoy.
* pin me *
Recipe: Creamy Curry Cauliflower Soup
1 medium cauliflower, cored and chopped
3 tablespoons + one teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each curry powder and cumin
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups any kind of stock
1 bay leaf
1. In a large bowl coat cauliflower florets with 3 tablespoons oil, curry and cumin powder, salt and pepper.
2. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast at 375° for about 25 minutes, till slightly softened.
3. Meanwhile chop the onion and sauté in hot oil and butter, about 10 minutes. Add roasted cauliflower, stock and bay leaf. Simmer approximately 15 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
4. Puree with an immersion blender (or transfer to blender in two batches and return to pot to reheat). Adjust seasonings to taste and serve with warm naan or other bread.
Bonus Tip
If you don’t enjoy living with the smell of your dinner for the rest of the night, especially strong smells like curry or fish, put a little vanilla extract into a small pot and let it warm on the stove for about half an hour. Best. Trick. Ever.
For more single vegetable soup recipes make sure to take a look at Roasted Tomato Soup and Carrot Ginger Soup, plus how to make easy dinner rolls using your breadmaker.
Soup for daaaaays! Exactly what I need during the dark cold days of winter, how about you? Thanks for hanging out here with me. If you haven’t signed up yet to receive new posts via email yet you can right here. Try it out, you can unsubscribe again any time, but I hope you won’t!
Stay warm and make soup!