Like so many people, my husband and I are trying to lose a few pounds and eat more healthfully. (I’m literally eating raw cookie dough as I write this, so I guess he is trying harder than I am. Mmmm…cookie dough.)
Therefore, I was very proud to tell him, when he arrived home the other night, that the rich, creamy cauliflower soup I was about to serve him contained no actual cream. Not one drop. In fact, not only is this soup meatless and dairy-free, but if you make it with water or vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, it is even vegan.
Yet despite this healthy provenance, this soup is creamy and rich and absolutely bursting with flavor. What is the secret to making a soup like this healthy yet incredibly satisfying? One, roast, don’t boil, the vegetables to coax out their natural flavor and sweetness.
You begin this recipe by roasting your cauliflower in the oven. Extra work, to be sure, but worth every minute. Roasting deepens cauliflower’s nutty flavor and caramelizes its natural sugars. If you have only ever had steamed or blanched cauliflower, you will be amazed by the intense flavor of this same vegetable after 20 minutes in a blazing hot oven.
The second secret: potatoes. And don’t try to give me any nonsense about potatoes not being healthy. Potatoes are a very healthy vegetable with lots of vitamin C. We just tend to make them unhealthy by slathering them with butter and milk and sour cream.
In this soup, the potatoes add richness and body without adding a lot of extra fat and calories. Essentially, they replace the cream. A pretty good trade, in my view.
The third secret is a little Moroccan spice mixture called ras el hanout. Akin to garam masala in Indian cuisine, ras el hanout is a fragrant, delicate spice blend that is used to finish a dish. Its components vary from region to region or even house to house. Some of the spices you might find in ras el hanout include cumin, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mace, cardamom, peppercorns, chili peppers, fenugreek, ginger, paprika, turmeric, rose petals, and more.
When my husband and I visited the Jean-Talon Market in Montreal, I made a point to stop at Épices de Cru, a famous spice merchant that has been written up in such publications as Food and Wine. Épices de Cru is known for its proprietary ras el hanout blend containing 27 spices and three (!) kinds of rose petals, so naturally I bought a small tin.
My small tin is now a few years old, but because the spices are whole, I am hopeful that they have retained their flavor. I use a small mortar and pestle to grind my ras el hanout right before I need it and no earlier. Just a small amount sprinkled on at the end of cooking transforms a dish. Every time I use ras el hanout in something, my husband comments on how flavorful the dish is.
Ras el hanout does not want to compete with a lot of other flavors for your attention, so I refrain from adding any other seasonings, besides salt and pepper to this soup. If you don’t have ras el hanout and I have not managed to convince you to go out and buy some — you should really buy some! — consider seasoning your soup with cumin, coriander, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and other warm spices when sautéing the onion and garlic.
So what exactly makes this healthy, vegan cauliflower soup so irresistible? To sum up: the rich, deep cauliflower flavor comes from roasting the vegetables before adding them to the broth. The potatoes lend body and creaminess. The lemon juice adds much-needed brightness. And like a true diva, the ras el hanout comes on at the very end to steal the show.
But didn’t we all come to see the diva, really? I know I did.
Ingredients
- 2 heads cauliflower cut into florets
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups diced, peeled waxy potatoes
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 1/2 tsp ras el hanout
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Toss cauliflower florets with 2 TB of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil and spread the florets out in a single layer.
- Roast the cauliflower for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 TB of olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
- Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, about five minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté a few additional minutes.
- Add the roasted cauliflower and potatoes to the Dutch oven and cover with the chicken or vegetable broth.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender OR, working in batches as necessary, puree in a food processor or high-speed blender and return to the Dutch oven.
- Add the lemon juice and ras el hanout and simmer just until warmed through.
- Serve garnished with croutons or reserved cauliflower florets.
