Spring is only a few weeks away and I had to share this cauliflower soup recipe before the end of Winter. Nourishing and comforting, this soup is easy to make and freezes really well so you can cook a large batch and freeze some for your convenience. The star of this dish is cauliflower, a very low-calorie and low carbohydrate vegetable 
with an incredible nutritional profile. One cup of cauliflower provides 46 mg of vitamin C, which is over the 45 mg/day recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines in the Australian Nutrient Reference Values. Good source of protein, high in fibre, B-vitamins, vitamin K, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese.
Cauliflower contains sulfur-rich compounds with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer activities. Mushrooms not only add texture to this delicious soup, but have amazing immune system boosting properties. So, this is an ideal recipe for Winter when there is a higher incidence of colds and flu.
Roasted cauliflower soup
Equipment
- Oven
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 2 small potatoes peeled and sliced
- 1 leek sliced
- 1 brown onion peeled and quartered
- 3 large cloves of garlic peeled
- 1 yellow capsicum chopped
- 4-5 cups of hot vegetable stock or water (start with 4 cups, use the extra cup to adjust the soup to your desired consistency if needed)
- 5 brown button or shiitake mushrooms
- Half teaspoon cumin seeds or ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Gourmet Afrika smoked garlic, dill and fennel sea salt seasoning*
- Olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Handful fresh garlic chives
Instructions
- Turn the oven on 200 degrees Celsius to preheat.
- Remove the cauliflower florets and add to a roasting tray (discard the stem or save for a vegetable stock).
- Add to the roasting tray: peeled and sliced potatoes, sliced leek, chopped yellow capsicum, whole garlic cloves peeled, brown onion peeled and quartered, cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon smoked garlic, fennel and dill seasoning (Gourmet Afrika), freshly ground black pepper and a generous dash of olive oil. Use your hands to mix all vegetables to coat with seasoning and olive oil.
- Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Test the cauliflower and potatoes to check if they are cooked and tender.
- Transfer all roasted vegetables to a sauce pan.
- Add 4 cups of hot vegetable stock or water and use a stick blender to blend the vegetables to a creamy consistency. Reserve.
- Slice the mushroom and chop the fresh garlic chives.
- Add a dash of live oil to a frypan or sautée pan, add sliced mushrooms and garlic chives.
- Saltée the mushrooms and chives for a minute until mushroom is cooked and tender but firm.
- Add mushrooms to the creamy cauliflower soup and stir through. Save a few mushroom slices for garnish.
- Serve the soup into bowls and garnish with mushroom slices and a drizzle of olive oil and chives from the stir fry. Enjoy!
Notes
Alternatively, you can add some sea salt, fennel seeds and some dill (fresh or dried).
