Recipe # 7: Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I am absolutely obsessed with making this soup on a cold or rainy day.  The smooth texture, especially when complemented by crunchy soynuts or a crouton, is bliss.  The intense, layered flavor comes from carefully cooking the mirepoix and properly roasting the cauliflower.  Yes, it is time consuming - but it is worth the effort!  Set aside some time on the weekend or after work on a lazy Tuesday and make it an event.  If you do not have an immersion (stick) blender you can use a blender or food processor, although you should consider investing in one.  The vegetables and tofu make this dish a complete protein, although you may want to serve it with a slice of bread or add a scoop of grains on top.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium onions
5 cloves garlic
2 lb. baby carrots
1 celery heart
1 large head cauliflower
1 tsp crushed red pepper, plus more for roasting
2 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried thyme
1 package silken tofu
6 cups water
Salt & pepper

Vegetable prep:

• Dice the onion and smash-chop* the garlic
• For one bag of the carrots, slice them in half and dice them into ½ inch pieces, set aside.   Depending on the size of your carrots, you’ll get 2-4 cuts per half.  Try slicing 3-4 baby carrots in half, and then dice them.  This should make the process go faster.
• For the other bag of carrots, simply cut them lengthwise and set aside.
• Trim the celery hearts of the (dried) top and (dirty) bottom and rinse the stalks to ensure you remove all the dirt.  Slice the stalks, lengthwise, into halves or thirds (depending on the width)  and dice into ½ inch pieces.  Like the carrots, you can dice a few stalks at the same time, which should help ease chopping fatigue.
• Pull the leaves off the cauliflower and cut a square into the bottom of the stem, as this will make cleaning trimming the florets easier.  Once cored, pull or trim the florets into medium sized pieces.  Use the whole cauliflower, not just the florets.  In a colander, rinse the pieces very well, as dirt tends to get stuck in the head.  Set on a kitchen towel to dry and set aside.

Roasting:

Preheat your oven to 450°F.  Place the halved carrots and cauliflower in a roasting pan and coat them with olive oil.  Using the spice jar, sprinkle some crushed red pepper over the vegetables and stir with a wooden spoon.  Depending on your tolerance, you can add more or less red pepper.  Keep in mind that the spice will be subtle, hitting you on the back of your mouth.  Put the pan in the oven and roast for 45-55 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When the carrots have shriveled and the florets are dark brown, you can take the pan out of the oven and set it aside as you make the soup.

Soup:

Heat the oil in a large stock pot (whatever you boil pasta in), over medium-high heat, and add the onions and garlic.  Stir occasionally to keep the garlic from browning too quickly.  You want the onions to begin to brown before proceeding (you may notice the bottom of the pan becoming “sticky“ from the onions starting to caramelize), about 7-9 minutes.  Add the carrots and keep stirring (the introduction of a water-heavy vegetable will help stop the cooking for a while and get the browned bits up from the pan).  When the carrots begin to brown, after 6-9 minutes, add the celery and keep stirring.  When the celery has reduced by half (you’ll notice a difference in the pot, as the vegetables cook and water evaporates), after 9-12 minutes, add the spices and herbs, cooking for an additional 2 minutes to help release the oils in the herbs.  Place the tofu directly in the pot, incorporate it with your wooden spoon, and add 1 tsp sea salt.  Scrape the roasted vegetables out of the pan, including residual oil (it’s full of flavor!) and place them in the pot.  After cooking for 3 minutes add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer.  Your soup will need to reduce, encouraging the flavors to intensify and set, for around 45 minutes.  Once it has finished reducing, remove it from the heat source and set aside.

Purée:

Using an immersion blender, purée the soup into a creamy and smooth consistency.  This may take upwards of 4 minutes, depending on the power of your immersion blender and the vegetables.  If you do not have an immersion blender, you may use a blender or food processor - but you will need to work in batches to avoid a mess.  When the soup is at your desired creaminess, add 1-2 tsp sea salt and some fresh ground pepper, stirring thoroughly to even out the soup.

You can serve this on its own, with a crusty bread or over grains.  Because it has the silken tofu, offering you a complete protein, this soup can be a meal or snack.  If making a meal, be sure to add a complex carbohydrate and some fruit for a nice finish!