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ROASTED CAULIFLOWER, ALMOND AND FRESH TURMERIC SOUP



    Do you love soups like I do? I actually love having soups in my dinners most days. Not only during winter months, soups are quite a regular meal in my house. My husband and I enjoy soups in our dinners with a light salad or sometimes a crusty bread to go along.


    This creamy roasted cauliflower soup is so comforting and full of nutrition. It’s quite a flavorful soup made with wholesome ingredients, all plant-based and gluten-free. Roasting the cauliflower gives that extra flavor to this hearty soup.


    To make it very creamy while keeping it vegan friendly, all you need is soaked up almonds blitzed to a purée, this adds that luscious creaminess without adding any cream to it.


    Adding fresh turmeric to the soup gave that extra nutrition and slight hint of earthy fresh note to this soul food.


    Roasted garlic is also added to balance the colic produced from cauliflower.


    I can’t wait to share my recipe which will definitely add on to your list of favorites. Happy souping day!


    SERVES: 4

    PREP TIME: 15 minutes

    COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

    BAKING TIME: 25 minutes

    PASSIVE TIME: 6 to 12 hours



    INGREDIENTS


    For Soup:

    • 1 medium sized / 700g cauliflower head, sliced 0.5 cm thick

    • 1 garlic pod, whole

    • 1 medium onion, chopped

    • 1” piece fresh turmeric root

    • 1/2 cup almonds, soaked and peeled

    • 1/2 cup water

    • 3 1/2 cups almond milk

    • 2 cups vegetable stock

    • 2 tsp lemon juice

    • 3 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    • 1 tsp sea salt


    For Garnish:

    • 2 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

    • 1 spring onion, sliced

    • 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil

    • 1 tbsp toasted almond slices

    • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

    • Few small roasted cauliflower slices, reserved


    METHOD

    1. Preheat oven at 220° C.

    2. Tip the sliced cauliflower in a rimmed large baking tray, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss it to coat lightly. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt on top. Spread cauliflower in single layer.

    3. Trim about 1/4 inch off from the head of garlic pod and expose the tops of garlic cloves. Place the pod along with cauliflower in the baking tray. Drizzle half tbsp of olive oil over exposed surface of garlic.

    4. Place the baking tray in hot oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and roasted.

    5. Once cooled slightly, squeeze out the garlic cloves from the skin. Reserve few small cauliflower slices aside for garnishing.

    6. In a small grinder, tip almonds and water and grind them to a fine paste.

    7. In a large saucepan, warm remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until translucent.

    8. Add the roasted cauliflower, garlic and grated fresh turmeric and salt, sauté for a minute. Add almond paste, almond milk and vegetable stock to the cauliflower, stir to mix.

    9. Bring to boil, cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove and add lemon juice.

    10. Let cool slightly for 3-4 minutes, blend with hand blender or in a blender jar to make smooth and creamy textured soup. Season with some extra salt if required.


    To Make Garnishing:

    1. Warm 1 teaspoon of oil in a small pan, add sliced garlic, roast for a minute until light golden in color and remove from pan.

    2. Now ladle the soup in serving bowls, garnish with reserved cauliflower slices, roasted garlic slices, spring onion and almond slices.

    3. Drizzle 1/2 tsp olive oil and a pinch of black pepper.



    COOK'S NOTES:

    • If you can't get hold of the vegetable stock, add a heaped tablespoon or a knob of vegetable stock mixed with 2 cups of hot water instead.

    • For a non-vegan alternative, vegetable stock can be replaced with chicken stock instead. A dash of butter can also be added for an extra flavour.



    TOMATO AND WALNUT PESTO TART



      Make every day gourmet with this flavourful tomato tart that’s sure to satisfy your senses with the beautiful combination of Italian flavours from basil pesto and ricotta cheese filling.


      This tart was entirely made from home grown organic produce. Almost everyday I’m plucking these beautiful tomatoes from my backyard and try to make use of them in all different recipes...whether it’s in soups, curries, pastas, chutneys, jams, sandwiches, wraps or in salads, pretty much in everything you wanna add that kick of tomatoes.


      This exotic looking rich crust tart is filled with ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano layered with walnut basil pesto, which is again made from fresh basil growing in my backyard. To play with the summer’s bounty, I added all different colours and sizes of tomatoes and it looked sooo pretty, and tasted divine. A subtle hint of thyme in the crust adds a different dimension of flavours to the tart.


      Either make it as big tart for sharing, or just individual ones, they surely will grab the attention when served at your tea or dinner party.

      SERVES: 6-8

      PREP TIME: 30 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 55 minutes to 1 hour

      PASSIVE TIME: 30 minutes



      INGREDIENTS


      For Pastry:

      • 250g/2 cups of plain flour

      • 175g unsalted butter, cold and diced

      • 1/2 tsp salt

      • 1/4 tsp dried thyme

      • 2-3 tbsp cold water

      For Pesto:

      • 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves

      • 75g Parmigiano Reggiano, chopped

      • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

      • 2-3 cloves garlic

      • 1/8 tsp salt

      For Ricotta Filling:

      • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

      • 3 tbsp low fat creamy feta cheese

      • 1/4 cup Parmigiano Regianno, grated

      • Pinch of salt

      • Freshly cracked black pepper

      For Tomato Layer:

      • 8-10 mixed colour and different sized firm tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

      • 2-3 tsp Balsamic vinegar

      • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

      • 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

      • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • Few basil leaves for garnish



      METHOD

      1. In a stand mixer bowl, sift flour, add salt, thyme and butter, blend them together with paddle attachment until it resembles breadcrumbs.

      2. Add water and blend for few seconds until the dough combines and form a ball. Do not over work the dough.

      3. Remove the dough on a floured surface, gently knead to bring everything together, take care not to over work the dough. Wrap it in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

      4. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

      5. Take the pastry out from the fridge, remove cling wrap and place it on a floured surface.

      6. Roll the dough in a 7 x 16 inch rectangle. Lift and wrap the pastry gently from longer end around the rolling pin and transfer by unwrapping on the loose based rectangular tart pan. Press the pastry into the pan and trim any excess around the edges.

      7. Line the pastry with parchment paper, spread baking beans on top and blind bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake further 5 minutes until the pastry is crisp. Remove to cool slightly.

      8. As the pastry is baking in oven, make pesto sauce by blending all ingredients together in a bender and keep aside.

      9. Make the ricotta filling by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep aside.

      10. Take 5 tbsp of pesto sauce and spread on the cooked pastry. Pour and spread ricotta cheese filling on top. Arrange tomato slice, overlapping slightly on each other. Season it with kosher salt and pepper and drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

      11. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, garnish with basil leaves, cut into slices and serve warm.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • I made this tart with plain flour but you can certainly make it gluten-free by replacing the plain flour with gluten-free flour.

      • Balsamic vinegar gives a slight sweet note to balance the tartness of the tomatoes. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar handy, drizzle little honey instead.


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