I’m about the brag about one of the most unlikely candidates to qualify as stellar in the culinary world – cauliflower.
In a soup.
Mind you, I love cauliflower; roasted, mashed or turned into a Indian style veggie but the thought of cauliflower soup usually brings to mind some ‘cream-of-concoction’ often known to grace French cuisine.
Which is why this is a moment of sheer triumph. Very rarely do I get taken by knock-me-off-my-feet-surprise by a dish. Most times I’m pretty good about judging if something’s going to turn out well.
But I was completely blind sided by this Moroccan style soup – with just simple this soup did just that.
It had me lapping up bowlfuls with such relish, I couldn’t believe I was thoroughly enjoying a marvelous vegetarian, low carb, healthful soup with cauliflower and almonds.
In fact I taught this at my culinary class over the weekend and had one of the ladies mention today that she'd been telling everyone about the soup.
What can I say?
You’ve got to try this and prepare to be swept off your feet but the ‘prince-in-the-frog-of-soups’!
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Gather the ingredients,
1 large cauliflower, 1 small yellow onion ( to yield ½ cup diced), 2 tbs olive oil, ½ tsp each ~ ground cinnamon, ground roasted cumin and ground cumin-coriander, 1 tbs harissa paste, 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, 2 oz (1/3 cup) slivered almonds & 1/2 tsp salt
Cauliflower: Trim and discard stalks and leaves. Separate the florets and halve.
Onion: Peel, discard skin. Cut the ends and dice.
Spices: Measure the spices and reserve in a bowl ready to use.
In a heavy bottom deep sauté pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until very hot.
Add the almonds and onions. Sauté for a few minutes. Add the harissa paste and spices and stir untl fragrant – a few seconds.
Add the cauliflowers and stock. Bring to a simmer.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is very tender.
Allow to cool slightly. Pulverize in a blender to a smooth puree.
Serve in bowls and drizzle some extra harissa if desired & top with toasted almonds.
Enjoy!
Recipe for
Spiced Cauliflower & Almond Soup
Preparation time: 15 minutes/ Cooking time: 20 minutes
Shopping List - Serves 4
1 large cauliflower
1 small yellow onion ( to yield ½ cup diced)
2 tbs olive oil
½ tsp each ~ ground cinnamon, ground roasted cumin and ground cumin-coriander
1 tbs harissa paste
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 oz (1/3 cup) slivered almonds
1/2 tsp salt
Preparation:
Cauliflower: Trim and discard stalks and leaves. Separate the florets and halve.
Onion: Peel, discard skin. Cut the ends and dice.
Spices: Measure the spices and reserve in a bowl ready to use.
Method:
In a heavy bottom deep sauté pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until very hot.
Add the almonds and onions. Sauté for a few minutes. Add the harissa paste and spices and stir untl fragrant – a few seconds.
Add the cauliflowers and stock. Bring to a simmer.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is very tender.
Allow to cool slightly. Pulverize in a blender to a smooth puree.
Serve in bowls and drizzle some extra harissa if desired & top with toasted almonds.
Enjoy!
