This unending, bitterly cold winter has left me starved for color -- leading me to run amok in the produce and florist departments of the local grocery stores. Apparently, I was fixated on orange and red this week as I returned home one day with an armful of sunset-orange roses, garnet-red vegetable smoothies, and an orange cauliflower.
Seriously, why eat a plain ol' white cauliflower when you can have an orange one? Also, its label said orange cauliflower has 25% more beta-carotene than the white variety and, as eating fruits and vegetables rich in beta-carotene
may reduce risk of heart disease, I'm all for orange cauliflower.
And then I thought, well, since it's freakin' cold outside and I'm doubtlessly going to turn the cauliflower into soup, why don't I combine it with that other beta-carotene power house, carrots?
And what's extra warming on a day spent digging out Death Mountain for the umpty-umpth time? Curry.
So, "Curried Cauliflower & Carrot Soup" was born. It's really good, even if I do say so myself, and will definitely warm up your frozen insides. I use
Penzeys Maharajah Style Curry Powder, which is wonderfully fragrant "sweet" mix that adds lots of rich flavor, but not a lot of heat. I figure, if I need more heat, then I'll stir in a little sriracha as the mood moves me at serving time. I frequently eat soup for breakfast, after all, and find flavorful but mild soups work best first thing in the morning. Bring on the heat at lunch time and supper!
I used plain unsweetened almond milk for this recipe, since the folks at the cardiovascular life-style modification clinic are quite keen on non-dairy milks like almond or soy. Obviously,
you may use whatever kind of milk you like best.
Curried Cauliflower & Carrot Soup
Yield: 6 servingsIngredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion, chopped small
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped small
- 1 tsp curry powder [Penzeys Maharajah Style]
- 1 large head orange cauliflower, cut into chunks
- 5 carrots, cut into chunks
- 6 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth [Pacific Foods Organic]
- 1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk [Almond Breeze]
Instructions
- In a large French/Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent. Add curry powder and cook, stirring frequently, until it is very fragrant.
- Add cauliflower and carrots. Stir to scrape up any browned-to-the-bottom bits and. Add broth. Broil pan to a boil. Reduced to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Using an immersion ("stick") blender, puree until as smooth as you like. Stir in 1 cup of almond milk and cook for an additional minute or until hot. Season as needed with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder.
I say this recipe serves six, but I really mean it serves one hangry woman for two days. What that translates to regular folk is probably six cups.