How About A Warm, Cozy Recipe?
Fight off the last of winter's grasp with roasted cauliflower and your favorite Indian spice blend.
It’s been a stormy couple of weeks - literally - as my area was hit repeatedly by the latest winter storm pattern. It’s not that snow is unusual here at the end of February/beginning of March, but the relentless nature of the storms, and their utter unpredictability makes getting out and about challenging. I found my established, comfortable writing schedule upended by changing class schedules at my son’s school, grocery procurement between storms, and planning (and cooking) extra meals for the stormy nights usually designated “takeout nights”.
So, I did not have the brain cells to tackle a long bit of writing. Instead, I offer you a recipe I developed using a vegetable that is just not getting any respect.
Cauliflower. The trend has been to use it as a blank slate, to create gluten- and carbohydrate-free imitations of things people would rather eat. But cauliflower has so much more to offer than that. Drizzle it with olive oil, and roast it in a hot oven. You’ll find out what I’m talking about. Add a leek or an onion, and your favorite Indian spice blend, and you’ll be on your way to this soup. We have been enjoying it this week, as a warming, robust way to ignore the fact that our yard is one of the last yards to be rid of snow in the entire neighborhood.
(Tip: If the leeks in the produce section are far more green than white, choose the white onion instead. Both alliums are equally skilled supporting actors in this soup show.)
Indian-Inspired Roasted Cauliflower Soup (cross-posted at Closer To Home Cooking)
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed
1 leek, trimmed and cleaned OR 1 large white onion, trimmed and peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon MOLA Indian-inspired Spice Blend, or your favorite curry powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Slice the cauliflower into 1/2-inch thick slices. (It's fine if they fall apart.) Cut the leek into 2-inch pieces. (OR cut the onion into quarters, then cut the quarters in half cross-wise into chunks.) Place the vegetables on a baking sheet with a rim, and drizzle them with the olive oil. Season them with the Indian-inspired blend, and toss them gently to coat evenly. Spread the vegetables into a single layer on the baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until tender and caramelized. Remove from the oven, and let cool until you can handle them.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large (3-quart) soup pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute.
Add 1 cup of broth to the pot, whisk until smooth, and allow to thicken slightly. Repeat this process until all the broth is in the pot. Whisk until smooth, and lower the heat to low.
Transfer the cauliflower and leek to the bowl of a food processor, add the water, and process until smooth. Transfer to the soup pot, raise the heat to bring the soup to a simmer, and stir or whisk the soup until it is smooth and well blended. Simmer for 5 minutes, then taste, and add salt and pepper. (The salt level will depend on how salty the vegetable broth and seasoning blend are. You may not need added salt.)
Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice.