Spiced cauliflower soup is an easy and delicious dish – a warming winter’s dinner but is also a cool and creamy summer’s lunch entreé or appetizer. I had a smoked and roasted potato from roasting a chicken in the wood fired clay BBQ, so that added an extra dimension to the flavors.

The flavors are very engaging with more depth than would be anticipated from such simple ingredients. Use the coconut cream for a milder, richer and creamy soup, with the yogurt adding a tangy counterpoint.

Here’s what you could grow in your garden for this recipe –

• Cauliflower
• Onion
• Cumin
• Cilantro

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Spiced Cauliflower Soup

Light and tasty no matter the time of year, this creamy, mildly spicy vegetable soup is multi-purpose. Excellent as a warming first course, an appetizing quick meal or when served chilled, delicious in a summer menu.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large potato diced
• 1 medium cauliflower head chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic finely diced or crushed
• 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cups coconut cream or yogurt
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• fresh cilantro or parsley to garnish

Instructions

1. Add potato, onion and cauliflower to a large heavy bottomed pot or deep saucepan with the oil and 1/4 cup water. Heat until bubbling then cover and lower heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and spices. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add stock, salt and black pepper.
3. Increase heat and bring to just before a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Stir in coconut cream or yogurt, taste and adjust salt and black pepper and serve with a generous pinch of freshly chopped cilantro or parsley.

Recipe Notes

Makes excellent and super easy leftovers for the following day's lunch. It is surprisingly satisfying on a cold winter night, but is light and cool on a summer's day.

This is extremely easy to make and doesn’t need you to watch or stir it the entire time, freeing you up for other things for most of the cooking time.

Starting with the main ingredients, I chopped them into appropriate sized pieces. I left the skin on the potato for the extra smoky flavor, but also because lots of nutrients are in the skin that I didn’t want to lose. Same thing with the ginger, I just thinly sliced it and then diced it finely so that it would cook down into the texture of the soup.

The cooked vegetables after adding the spices but just before adding the vegetable stock. Turmeric is highly beneficial to health, especially when activated by ground black pepper and teamed up with a healthy fat like coconut oil. Much more of the nutrients and benefits are delivered to the body this way, so this soup is the perfect, delicious delivery method!

Ready for enjoyment! The potato cooks down, thickening the consistency and the cauliflower almost completely cooks into the soup. If you want, transfer the finished soup to a blender for a quick spin to make it smoother before serving. The fresh chopped cilantro adds a bright, lively note!