Friday, February 4, 2011

Creamy Cauliflower Walnut Soup

The winter always brings in its own vegetables and herbs. The last month of the year always brings in fenugreek leaves and assorted herbs and greens,cauliflowers, capsicum(bell peppers),carrots,brussel sprouts,leeks etc. I know these are available throughout the year,but these are basically called winter vegetables as they are harvested during winter.Anyway, we can see a dip in the prices and sacks /boxes of these almost everywhere. I myself purchase these in bulk and thus was left with 2 large cauliflowers and decided to make a simple yet creamy soup. I adapted the soup from Ganga of A Life(time) of cooking  and you can see the original here.The original is supposed to be from Soup Bible.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower: chopped: 4 cups
Onion: coarsely chopped: almost 1/2 cup
Garlic: 2 small cloves

Water/Stock : almost 2 cups or as needed

Walnuts: handfuls
Milk: 1 cup +/-

Nutmeg: 1/2 tsp +/- (optional)

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Paprika/Chilli powder: for garnish
Walnuts: toasted for garnish

Preparation:
Clean the florettes and coarsely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Heat water/stock/combo in a deep pan/vessel and bring to boil. Add the florettes,onion,garlic and little salt,cover and let these simmer till soft for about 15-20 minutes.

Add around 1/2 cup of milk,walnuts and nutmeg and let it simmer again for around 5 minutes. Remove from heat,cool and blend in a mixer/blender to get a fine puree/paste.

Add in more milk/water as needed and heat through.Adjust the salt and add the pepper and serve warm garnished with paprika/chilli powder and toasted walnuts.You can also go for a chunky version,by partially blending the soup and leaving small florettes to munch on while enjoying the soup.


The soup even without adding milk is creamy and thick. And it thickens more on sitting.I added barely half cup of milk as I went for a thicker version.You can increase the water/stock adjusting the milk depending on how you want it.Even soy/coconut milk works for a vegan version.

The addition of garlic and nutmeg is optional and not there in the original. Nutmeg I found goes well with cauliflowers and provide warmth and comfort.Garlic also has its own benefits.

This simple creamy soup is on way to NCR:Creamy Soups & Salads hosted this month at Tinned Tomatoes.








11 Comments:

Sunanda said...

Wow! nice use of winter vegetable to make this healthy soup.. looks delicious.. saw your blog after a long time its very nice to lots of new resipes here..

Finla said...

Looks indeed creamy delisicou.

Priya Suresh said...

Wow soup looks soo creamy, definitely a comforting soup..

Akila said...

very innovative and delicious soup dear....

Unknown said...

Creamy looking soup healthy and perfect for wingter...

Cham said...

I never made soup with cauliflower looks very creamy!

Unknown said...

wow, that looks simply superb, creamy and so tempting.

Swathi said...

I haven't tried soup with cauliflower, it sounds delicious. love the addition of walnuts.

Sweet Artichoke said...

What a great soup recipe! I love cauliflowers and it looks so creamy :-)

Sapthanaa Vytheswaran said...

looks awesome.. and yummy!

Anonymous said...

It looks great! Thanks for the link and for trying the soup.
Ganga

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