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
Preheat oven at 220° C.
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.
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.
Place the baking tray in hot oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and roasted.
Once cooled slightly, squeeze out the garlic cloves from the skin. Reserve few small cauliflower slices aside for garnishing.
In a small grinder, tip almonds and water and grind them to a fine paste.
In a large saucepan, warm remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
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.
Bring to boil, cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove and add lemon juice.
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:
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.
Now ladle the soup in serving bowls, garnish with reserved cauliflower slices, roasted garlic slices, spring onion and almond slices.
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.
