Hi friend! I hope you had a splendid weekend. I had a little bit of a casual dinner party on Friday night complete with a 16-hour slow roasted grass-fed beef brisket and this soup recipe. It was such a hit that my friends and family asked me to share it so I figured I might as well share it with everyone on the blob today. I know I recently shared a recipe for a Curried Squash and Apple Soup, but I find because this soup uses cauliflower instead it’s a much more savoury pot of love than the sweet squash and apple.
The most important thing when you’re making soup is to make sure that you layer all the flavours. That’s how you get a soup that sings instead of a soup that’s just enh. So whenever I make a soup I do it in steps, adding different spices, seasonings, and veggies at different times. Letting them sit together for a couple minutes so they can make sweet love in the pot. Then slowly stirring, adding more yumminess, and letting it all come together. Take your time with your soup. Taste it, smell it, and see what it needs to make it come alive.
Cooking isn’t about following measurements to the letter and being all mechanical. Cooking is love made manifest in something that you can share with the people in your life who matter. It’s not an exact science and you shouldn’t feel nervous when you turn on the stove. It’s a great time to turn off the brain and let the senses take control.
To make a delicious dish you want to use them all. You want to touch the ingredients as you prepare them and once you’re in tune you can figure out how much you need of a certain item without measuring, just by feeling and trusting your gut. It’s such a fun experience to create without restriction and the more you do it, the easier it will become. So play around!!
When you’re cooking your nose also knows what’s up. You can smell when your spices have reached that perfect state of fragrance, which means all their tasty oils have been released. And if you pay attention you can tell when something is just on the edge of burning so you can catch it and avoid those nasty kitchen mistakes… most of the time anyway.
Once everything is combined I’ll often turn the burner up and go to the table to do some work. That’s when I start using my ears to tell when the pot is just about to reach that point where it will boil over and make a huge effing mess all over my stove. You can hear the bubbles and the steam and the energy coming together and if you’re paying attention that sound will tell you when it’s time to turn it down, without the lid popping up and spilling sh*t everywhere.
Once everything is cooked and combined, it’s time to whip out the best tool at a cook’s disposal: their sense of taste. It’s at this stage that the tweaking and the playing come out to add the final flourishing touches to whatever it is you’re making. In the case of soup this is where I’ll add the splash of vinegar and/or maple syrup, some sea salt, a little pepper, maybe some tamari. Sometimes a splash of vinegar or lemon juice just brightens up the whole thing. Sometimes you may need a dollop of maple syrup to mellow out some bitter notes. Add little tiny bits at a time and keep adjusting until it gets to that perfect sweet spot. This also gets easier the more you do it and the more you begin to trust yourself.
Finally, you eat first with your eyes, so whatever you’ve prepared make it look tasty. Eat it out of pretty dish ware, set the table, light a candle, add a pretty garnish. Feast your eyes and make your meal something special. You put all the time and effort into making it taste delicious, you better damn well take the time and effort to enjoy it fully so you can get all the physical and emotional benefits out of it that you can.
Wow… there seems to be something about soup dishes that turn me into a wannabe philosopher hehe. Anyhoo, long story short is that I love soup and I love cooking and I love the creativity and meditation that comes along with preparing a good soup. So enjoy, with love xo
Curried Cauliflower Love Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp. madras curry powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1 inch ginger, diced
- 2 small yellow onions, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 small carrots, shredded
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 6 cups water or broth
- 1 can coconut milk
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add oil to pan and let warm up, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add curry powder, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, and ginger to oil, stir to combine and cover.
- After spices begin to release fragrance add onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Stir to combine and allow to simmer together for 2 minutes.
- Add cauliflower, combine, cover, and let mellow for 2 minutes or so.
- Add the broth, and 2 tsp. sea salt, stirring everything together.
- Cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiled reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender.
- Once veggies are soft, puree using an immersion blender.
- Stir in coconut milk and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, serve, and enjoy!
Well that’s the recipe for today friend. I hope you enjoy this nourishing and toasty curried soup as much as I did. And if you’re looking for more sweet recipe inspiration make sure you download my FREE Fantastic Fermentables Cookbook by clicking here.
Have a wonderful week!
Cait xo
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