cumin roasted cauliflower soup- hearty & healthy

“Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24) BXVI: The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity    - From the Pope's daily twitter updates during Lent

cauliflower soup 2 a

Sometimes an idea will come and settle in my head. Then it's like everything around me conspires to make me put that idea into action. That idea for some time now was earth shattering. Life changing. Actually it was just...cumin roasted cauliflower soup.

See, I discovered the joy of roasted veggies only after moving here with a large, lovely oven at my disposal. As a kid I wouldn't eat cauliflower unless it was crispy fried like in Gobi Manchurian a delectable but greasy Indo- Chinese dish. Since then I have grown to appreciate my veggies, but even more so after I discovered roasting them. Baked sweet potato "fries", broiled sweet bell peppers, smoky roasted eggplant and best of all, cumin roasted cauliflower bliss.
So while I have been routinely roasting my cauliflower sprinkled with a little cumin, pepper and salt and enjoying delicious cauliflower chips for some time now, one day I just had the idea to make them into soup.

Since that day I kept hearing cauliflower everywhere- the women at the table next to ours at a restaurant kept raving about the cauliflower soup they were having and which I then wished I had ordered. Then some good friends blogged about it or mentioned making it and by then I was longing/craving cauliflower soup and just had to make it!

There are lots of cauliflower soups out there. A friend recently made one that was light, refreshing and delicious and I'm looking forward to her recipe and hope to try it soon too.
This one is hearty, thick and robustly flavorful and very filling. Soup never makes me feel full. But this one does. And its healthy and yummy to boot.

cauliflower soup4

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent for us Christians. It is a period of penance, abstinence and sacrifice, remembering the pain and suffering of Jesus Christ, Who we believe died painfully on the Cross to atone for all our sins. This period of around 40 days leads up to Easter which celebrates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and reminds us that we too must strive not for the fleeting pleasures of this life but of eternal life in Heaven.

During Lent we are called to pause and reflect on our own lives and turn away from sin. We are to do charitable acts and to observe fasts as a simple exercise of "showing our passions who is boss" and knowing that we can control our desires if we want. Even if our desires in themselves may not be sinful, indulging every one of them could be dangerous, making us more likely to give in to sin so we practice a little self restraint during this time.

Some people give up meat and alcohol or something else they really like during this time. There was a little girl who gave up the colour pink, her absolute favorite :) People find really creative ways to make their Lenten sacrifices like this girl I read about who is giving up fashion for a cause. In support of those giving up meat for Lent I plan to post several more healthy vegetarian dinner ideas in the coming month like this soup.

For me eating only veggies is quite a treat and not really a sacrifice so I will have to find something unpleasant but good for me to do. Any ideas? maybe giving up sweets or undertaking a major kitchen and paperwork re-organisation effort. Or I might have to take up some form of exercise especially after the two year old  bumped his head against my tummy today and then kept saying "bouncy-bouncy!"

You don't have to be Christian to participate in Lent. A little self restraint once in a while is good for everyone. But I must admit -this soup with some flaky onion biscuits for dinner? Not very sacrificial at all!
Cumin Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Recipe loosely based on one here

Ingredients

To roast the cauliflower:
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets or chunks. 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic unpeeled 
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
For the soup base:
  • 1 tablespoon oil 
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot diced fine 
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder 
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes 
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch 
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 chicken/beef/veg soup cube ( Or you can use stock instead of the water and soup cubes) 
  • 1 cup milk
Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Chop the cauliflower into thick slices or break into florets. Reserve the small bits since they might burn and charr while being roasted.
Place the cauliflower chunks/ florets in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and season with cumin, salt, and pepper, tossing it well with your fingers to coat.
Roast the cauliflower in the preheated oven stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
(The roasted cauliflower is very delicious and you may be tempted to eat the entire batch in one sitting)
Heat the oil  in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and stir it until it is lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the diced carrots and the reserved bits of cauliflower stir and cover for about 10 mins
Dissolve the flour/corn starch in a little water, mixing well so that it is not lumpy.
Slowly pour the chicken broth/ water and soup cubes and milk into the pan along with the corn starch in water.
Bring to a boil while stirring continuously until the soup thickens, then reduce heat to low.
Stir in the roasted cauliflower.
Serve as is, or blend half and recombine with the rest of the soup for a thicker consistency.
I pureed the whole thing because I wanted it nice and creamy.
If you have an immersion blender you can do this in the soup pot itself.
Sprinkle with some chilli flakes for colour and heat and serve with croutons, biscuits or bread for dipping.
I crumbled these really easy to make flaky and tender onion biscuits over my bowl

Note this soup is really thick. If you like your soup a little thinner, you can simmer it for a little while with some more stock, milk or even just some more water mixed in.

For more healthy vegetarian recipes click here

40 comments:

  1. Yum comforting soup with nice clicks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks amazingly delicious. Lovely presentation too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. that first pic seriously made me drool :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Anu, Zareena and Nisha! You are very sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am always at a loss to make variety dishes during lent. This soup looks lovely, kinda inspires me to experiment during lent.. and yes I say it again. Your clicks are amazing..!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks picturebite and Anzz you are my biggest photography supporter! Looking forward to your experiments!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The soup looks so hearty and delicious!! I love the recipe for the soup base, gorgeous clicks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hearty and a comforting soup for this cold weather. Your take on this cauliflower soup is brilliant dear.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love cauliflower and this soup sounds very delicious. I haven't made cauliflower soup yet so I'd love to give it a try one day. I stir fry cauliflower all the time but next time will be eating in a soup!

    ReplyDelete
  10. the clicks are lovely and so tempting and so is the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such beautifully written. I too never liked cauliflower unless it was crispy fried. But once I tried cauliflower soup .. i fell in love it. Delicious and comforting!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you Nami! I LOVE your blog and am so happy to have you over at mine :)
    Sarah my sweet you always have the nicest things to say! Hugs
    Kankana the pictures of your Donna Hay inspired Cauliflower soup pushed me to make and eat cauliflower soup ASAP :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rose, thanks so much for dropping by my blog and checking out Made with Love Mondays - I hope you do have a chance to participate. I haven't been to your blog before, so I've added to my Google Reader subscription list so I can keep up. Love the look of this soup. I'm always on the looking for new ideas for cauliflower...

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would love to participate in Made with love Mondays! Thanks for coming over and for wanting to be updated on my posts :) Adding your blog to my google reader as well!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Like the roasted part in the soup, looks comforting and yum!

    ReplyDelete
  16. i'm quite pathetic with cauliflower, every time i cook i mess it up, so the soup will be the best way to deal with it :))

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love roasting cauliflower -- it brings out the nuttiness and gives a great flavor. What a delicious soup recipe with gorgeous styling :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you, I have just been searching for info about this topic
    for a long time and yours is the best I've discovered till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you positive concerning the supply? kliknij po więcej, http://galia-online.cbbbg.com/node/157998

    ReplyDelete
  19. I blog often and I genuinely thank you for your content.

    This great article has really peaked my
    interest. I'm going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new information about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed too.
    See this: abhorred.Katowice.pl, http://abductors.szczecin.pl
    my site - abhorred.Katowice.pl

    ReplyDelete
  20. 
    Incredible lots of beneficial knowledge!
    My site: http://sekstelefon.wroclaw.pl, sex rozmowy:
    http://sexrozmowy.com.pl

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to check it
    out. I'm definitely loving the information. I'm bookmarking and
    will be tweeting this to my followers! Great blog and brilliant design.
    kliknij po więcej informacji, http://wiki.
    bigsound.org/index.php?title=%E4%BD%BF%E7%94%A8%E8%80%85%E8%A8%8E%E8%AB%96:DorthyFis
    my page: kliknij po więcej informacji

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yes! Finally someone writes about unconditionally.
    kliknij po szczegóły, http://wiki.
    web.ci/index.php?title=Utilisateur:HaydenBar

    ReplyDelete
  23. Today, I went to the beach front with my children.
    I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
    "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She placed the
    shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit
    crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back!
    LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had to tell someone!

    kliknij, http://nieszkodzi.

    cba.pl/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1794&sid=7ee0b82cf80bed4290da07862c1a7b0b

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm extremely inspired together with your writing abilities as smartly as with the structure in your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself? Anyway stay up the excellent quality writing, it's rare to look a nice blog
    like this one these days..

    my web site ... kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am extremely impressed together with your writing talents and also with the structure on your weblog.
    Is this a paid subject matter or did you customize
    it yourself? Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it's uncommon to see a nice blog like this one these days..

    My webpage kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey very nice website!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I'll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also? I'm glad to
    find so many useful information here within the publish, we need develop more techniques in this regard, thank you
    for sharing. . . . . .

    Stop by my webpage ... kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  27. The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive a 30
    foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
    My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!


    Also visit my web site :: www.rbalaw.org

    ReplyDelete
  28. Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you be familiar
    with afterward you can write if not it is difficult to write.


    Also visit my web site; kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  29. What's up to every one, it's truly a fastidious for me to pay a visit this website, it contains precious Information.


    Also visit my web-site - kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi there, There's no doubt that your site could possibly be having browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in I.E., it's got some overlapping
    issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up!
    Apart from that, great blog!

    Visit my webpage ... kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi there to every , since I am truly keen of reading this blog's post to be updated regularly. It contains pleasant stuff.

    Check out my web site; kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  32. whoah this blog is great i really like studying your posts.
    Keep up the good work! You recognize, a lot of persons are looking around for this
    information, you can help them greatly.

    Stop by my homepage :: kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  33. Howdy would you mind stating which blog platform you're working with? I'm planning to start my own blog soon but I'm having a difficult time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I'm looking
    for something unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!


    Also visit my site; kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  34. This is a very good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere.
    Brief but very accurate information… Thanks for
    sharing this one. A must read post!

    my weblog :: www.westcoastgreen.com

    ReplyDelete
  35. Nice replies in return of this difficulty with solid arguments and describing the whole thing on the topic of that.


    Here is my web page :: kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  36. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this,
    like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit,
    but other than that, this is fantastic blog. A fantastic read.

    I will certainly be back.

    Here is my website; kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  37. Your mode of explaining everything in this post is truly
    good, every one be capable of simply understand it, Thanks a lot.


    My blog ... kliknij

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi there, I found your web site by the use of Google even
    as searching for a comparable topic, your web site got here up, it seems good.
    I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
    Hi there, simply turned into aware of your blog via Google, and found that it is
    truly informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels.
    I'll be grateful if you happen to continue this in future. Lots of folks shall be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!

    My website :: www.tedxyse.com

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make me smile and encourage me to keep blogging! Thanks for visiting and taking time to leave me a message :)