Description
This soup gets its inspiration from a chicken curry recipe.
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
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.
Keywords: cauliflower, Indian, soup, tomato, vegetarian, vegan