You can’t make a zebra change its stripes, or a leopard change its spots, or a cook change her favourite spice combinations. I am partial to Indian and Mexican flavouring, so have cumin, coriander, and various chilis at the ready. You’ll find plump pieces of ginger root in my freezer, cilantro in my fridge, and garlic growing amidst the rose bushes in my front yard. But ask me for wasabi, dashi, or Negi, and the cupboard is bare.
This vegetarian Indian-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower Soup is an adaptation of my favourite Chicken Curry. Since I make it often, I have the ingredients on hand. To transform the curry into a soup, I borrowed the spicing, swapped cauliflower for chicken, and adjusted the liquid.
Make it Your Own
If Indian isn’t your thing, maybe your cupboard is an homage to Italian or French cuisine? Perhaps you find inspiration in Japanese or Korean spices? Below, I deconstruct my adaptation process, so you can follow along at home with the ingredients you have.
The Thought Process
I know the primary flavours — onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, and spices — are versatile. I’ve used them for dishes ranging from matar paneer to stuffed mushrooms. Since cauliflower features in a lot of Indian dishes, I knew this conversion would be a safe bet.
From Curry to Soup
The original curry was thick, calling for just a small amount of water and yogurt as the base. I wanted to extend the liquid substantially, so chose ingredients that would work with, not against, the spices. Since the recipe called for tomato paste, I extended the liquid base with tinned tomatoes. I thinned the soup even more with chicken stock, which added flavour and a bit of salt. You can easily use vegetable stock to keep this vegetarian or vegan.
I chose to omit the yogurt since it tends to separate when cooked and should be added at the end. It also doesn’t freeze well. When I tasted the finished soup, I thought it was flavourful enough, so the soup didn’t suffer from skipping the dairy. Of course, you can add yogurt as a garnish if you like.
To Puree or Not to Puree
I’m fussy on my textures. Pureeing the entire batch of soup in a blender would make it far too thick. I pureed a small amount to see what would happen. The results were thick as pablum. A full-on blending would not work. Fortunately, a quick blitz with the immersion blender provided a chunky soup that was still slurpable. I decided to reserve a few florets for garnish, just to be a tiny bit cheffy. You can skip this if you find it too much work.
And that’s that. Cauliflower pairs with many other cuisines, so let your palate and cupboard guide you.
This soup gets its inspiration from a chicken curry recipe.
Scale
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower 1 large head cauliflower broken into bite-sized florets (about 5–6 cups)
vegetable oil
salt
Soup 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil 2 onions, chopped 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped garlic 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped ginger* 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cumin seeds 2 tablespoons (15 ml) tomato paste 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Garam Masala 1 tablespoon (15 ml) brown sugar 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (1.25 to 2.5 ml) red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground turmeric 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt 4 cups (1 L) chicken or vegetable stock 1 tin (28 oz/ 796 mL) tomatoes with juice** 1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
Spread florets onto prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Stir to coat evenly. Roast in preheated oven until cauliflower is tender and browned, about 20-25 minutes. Set aside.
Soup
While cauliflower is roasting, heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan (at least 5-quart / 5-litres) over medium heat. When hot, add the oil and cook the onions until browned. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, garam masala, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, turmeric, and salt, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes. Bring soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes to blend the flavours. Salt to taste.
Set aside 1 cup (250 ml) of cauliflower florets for garnish. Stir remaining florets into the soup and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Blend roughly with an immersion blender. Stir in chopped cilantro.
Ladle into bowls, garnish with a couple florets and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Notes
* I freeze fresh ginger root and then simply grate the frozen root (skin and all) on a Microplane® zester. It quickly turns into a paste and dissolves easily into the spices.
**I used crushed tomatoes simply because I had them on hand. You can use whole tomatoes broken apart by hand, or diced tomatoes. Be sure to include the juice.
Adding a dollop of plain yogurt will tone down the spicing if it’s too much.
