It’s been another busy week in the MAKE Projects kitchen! Since restarting our operations after the holiday break, we’ve been busier and busier each week. Our new cohort of Somali participants have been doing a fantastic job keeping up and its been a pleasure to work with them! Last week, we made nearly 400 handmade Eritrean flatbreads in addition to all the other delicious items. And thanks to our warm San Diego weather (rain aside), our FarmWorks garden and local farms have provided us with a wealth of wonderful produce to craft new pantry items. Take a look at our current list on the website to see what we did with recently harvested cauliflower, citrus, nasturtium flowers, carrots, and more!
This week’s recipe is inspired by the beautiful cauliflower that Farmer Robbie brought me last week. One of my favorite wintertime soups from a place I worked at in New York City was a roasted cauliflower soup. I loved to make this soup as it was comforting, hearty, and super healthy all at the same time! The key to this recipe is roasting your cauliflower pretty aggressively to create good depth of flavor. Don’t be afraid to really put some good color on your cauliflower because that’s going to make all the difference! The other great thing about this recipe is that it has a great body and creaminess from the cauliflower without having to add any cream (although you can if you really want to gild the lily!).
Roasted Cauliflower Soup 1 Head Cauliflower, cut into florets 1 Onion, Diced 1 Rib Celery, Diced 1 Leek, white and light green part only, thinly sliced 1 turnip, diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 Tablespoon Cumin 1 Tablespoon Thyme, fresh or dried 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika Vegetable Stock, Chicken Stock or Water – Enough to just cover the vegetables in the pot, about 4 – 6 Cups 2 Tablespoons Sherry vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar Olive Oil as needed Procedure
Preheat the oven to 450 F.
In a large mixing bowl gently toss the cauliflower with 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil to lightly coat along with salt and pepper to taste. Spread on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
Roast Cauliflower until nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large pot gently sweat the onion, celery, leek and turnip in olive oil until softened and onion is translucent.
Add the garlic and cook one minute more until fragrant.
Add the cumin, thyme and paprika and cook 30 seconds more until fragrant.
Add the roasted cauliflower.
Add enough of the stock or water to just cover all the vegetables.
Bring soup to a simmer and cook uncovered until all vegetables are very soft, about 30-40 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Using either an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the soup (in batches if doing in regular blender). Add a little water or stock as needed for a good consistency.
Pour back into the pot and whisk in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Optional: Whisk in ¼ cup Heavy Cream
Enjoy!
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