Curried Cauliflower Soup with spinach and nigella seeds
POSTED ON February 8, 2014
Curried cauliflower soup
Firstly, thanks to you, my subscribers for your patience with my website and hosting issues over the last week. I have now moved to a new host and hope that the erroneous WordPress posts are a thing of the past!
Now, on to more important issues — SOUP, my daily staple and favorite thing to eat in the winter. I can’t count how many variations of the ever-popular cauliflower greens soup I make for myself and my clients from fall right through spring. Cauliflower is one of the most reliable vegetables for soups available in most of the year; it blends well with an endless variety of ingredients and always results in a perfectly velvety texture. Because there are no flavorful winter squash, zucchini, sweet corn or tomatoes during the coldest months, (unless you’ve stashed a supply of kabocha before it disappeared from the market), cauliflower along with carrots and broccoli are the veggies I use primarily for creamy soups. And though I know there are potato and sweet potato soups to be made, neither feels nourishing to me, although a little sweet potato or yam can sweeten up that pale butternut squash when you’re in a pinch. Other than that, they’re not what I want eat for a few days in a row, which is my whole point of making a pot of soup—easy comforting meals on hand and ready in minutes. Topped with a drizzle of flax oil, some chopped parsley and scallions, toast or crackers on the side and you have a perfect warming lunch or dinner.
Photo by Stephen Johnson.
Thanks to everyone at Get The Gloss for featuring me as blogger of the week.
Curried cauliflower soup with spinach and nigella seeds
Using homemade curry powder is key to a deliciously fragrant soup, I vary the amount depending how strong I want the spicy flavor to be. If you end up making it stronger than you like, try stirring in a cup of coconut milk to temper it a bit. Unless I’m serving the whole pot of soup, I leave the spinach out and add a handful to each portion I heat. This way it stays bright and green and doesn’t over cook when being reheated.
Serves 4 to 6
2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
2 onions, diced
Sea salt
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
3 to 4 teaspoons homemade curry powder
1 large head cauliflower, chopped in 1 ½ inch pieces
Filtered water
Tamari to taste
3 cups baby spinach
To serve:
Cold pressed flax oil
1 tablespoon nigella seeds, toasted, see note
Warm oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until golden. Add a pinch of salt, garlic and ginger and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Stir in curry powder and add cauliflower. Add water to just below the surface of the cauliflower and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. Remove from heat and blend in an upright blender until completely smooth and velvety—fill the blender half way as it will splutter and can burn you. Add more water to get desired consistency. Return soup to pot and reheat over medium heat. Season to taste with salt and tamari. Stir in baby spinach leaves and cook until softened and deep green. Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and drizzle with flax oil and a pinch of nigella seeds
Note: nigella seeds are black caraway seeds. They can be found in Indian markets and some Middle Eastern markets. To toast: warm a small skillet over medium heat add tablespoon of seeds and toast for a minute or two or until fragrant. Don’t over toast, as they will become bitter. Remove from pan and set aside until ready to serve the soup.
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This soup sounds so good! I love the idea of punching up a gentle creamy veg soup with spicy curry.
So funny. I had the same thing happen to me. It was embarassing! Mass emails of posts from 2 years ago. Some that I’d rather forget. Anyhow 🙂 This soup looks amazing. I love your soups.
Thank you so much for this recipe, Amy! I made it last night and it was brilliant – super quick and simple, incredibly nutritious, delicious and comforting… and soooo pretty! This just MIGHT get us through winter 🙂
I’m so glad to hear it! Stay warm!
I’ve made hundreds of soups in my many years of cooking, but I have to say that this one may very well be my favorite. I am sitting by the fire having my second bowl right now. Thank you so much for posting. YUM!
So happy to hear this Meryl! Perfect for eating by the fire on these cold winter nights.
Thanks for reading.
Amy.
This looks lovely. I had a curried cauliflower and leek soup a few days ago and it was delicious. This looks so amazing I want it right now – It’s freezing where I live (Melbourne) at the moment so its perfect soup weather. Bec x
Thank you Bec. I hope you get some spring weather in Melbourne soon!
Wow! The things you do with cauliflower. My favorite is your roast cauliflower tart, I was too lazy to make it tonight so tried this recipie. It was so simple yet delicious. A new midweek favorite. Thank you.
So glad to here it’s a new mid week favorite for you! Thanks for following along!
Amy x
This looks wonderful!
This soup was delicious! I had it with some homemade bread and it was so so lovely! I forgot about tamari, and I added some miso ( i like it more salty) + some sauerkraut. Next time I will try it with tamari! And loved those nigella seeds, so beautuful!
Thank you, Amy!
How long will leftovers last in the refrigerator? Does this freeze well?
One of the ingredients is homemade curry powder. I don’t like spicy, as in hot, food. Do you have a recipe for mild curry? Thanks!
Hi Joanne,
As with all veggie soups it will last 4 to 5 days. It can be frozen for up to 6 months. The curry powder is linked and if you leave out the cayenne it won’t be hot….it is more aromatic.
Let me know how it goes!
Amy
Delicious soup Amy! I added a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of maple syrup, plus a sprinkle of those delectable tamari seeds from the recipe in your first book – and voila! Scrumptious! Thanks always, Serena x