Spicy Carrot Cauliflower Soup

soup spoon

I love soup.

Soup is one of the first things I remember my mom showing me how to make. Soup can be light or hearty, cool or warm, require constant attention or be a pot you ignore for hours at a time- in other words, I can manage to scrape together a decent soup no matter what mood I'm in.



sad wilting cauliflower octopus

Due to bad planning and tragic events we've been out of town for the last three weekends plus, which means a HUGE pile-up of sad-looking vegetables from the CSA box. I started out thinking I'd make the soup I first learned from my mom- vegetable with dumplings -but as I tend to, I got a tad distracted and changed my plans along the way, ending up with this delicious sweet-spicy soup instead.


attempting to keep track

• 1 tbsp oil (more if needed)
  
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp red curry (paste or powder)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1.5 tsp curry powder (yellow kind)
• 1 dried chili, torn up
• .5 tsp whole black pepper corns
• 4 cups carrots, chopped
• 4 cups cauliflower, chopped (I used a combination of the flower and the greens, well-aware that using the greens would ruin the vivid orange of my soup)
• 4 cups yam, chopped (I never skin my veggies, just scrub well, feel free to do whatever)
• 8 cups broth (go for veggie to make this a vegan/vegetarian soup)

before blending

1. in a large stock pot heat your oil, add onion and saute over medium-low heat until you finally stop crying from the chopping, or the onion is translucent/beginning to brown. then add the garlic and spices and cook several minutes more. (if you're me, choose spices by going through the spice-cabinet while onions are sauteing, realizing you've got a few things from the last time you made Indian that should probably be used before all their flavor is gone)
2. if needed, add a bit more oil then the cauliflower, cook until most of the cabbage smell has dissipated
3. add carrots and cook until slightly soft, stirring every few minutes. add yams and cook a bit more, trying to get some of each ingredient browned for flavor.
4. add broth to cover vegetables, cover, and leave simmering until everything is tender/cooked the hell out of, depending on your schedule
5. either leave soup whole or blend with immersion blender
6. serve with a dollop of plain yogurt (unless you're making a vegan version of course) and a sprinkle of dill weed

almost gone

We ate the soup with buttered toast and kale chips, which never made it out of the kitchen...

This recipe makes somewhere around 10 bowls worth (the vegetables really shrink.) The black pepper adds a surprising amount of spice that is nicely balanced by the sweetness of the carrots and yams, I'll definitely make this one again.