I can’t tell you how many times I find myself with a bunch of fresh vegetables and no idea what to do with them. I love to browse the farmer’s market and pick up whatever looks good. The challenge then is how to take those random items and make something good. I turned cauliflower and leek into an amazing soup that I just had to share with you.
There are certain vegetables that go with practically anything, like potatoes. Potatoes taste great, are inexpensive and easy to cook. Unfortunately, they aren’t the most nutritious vegetable. Considering what they’re made of (pretty much just water and starch) they’re as much a vegetable as wheat and oats are. Because of this, I don’t buy potatoes often (except for sweet potatoes, which are incredibly nutritious.)
You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. I’m actually asking myself the same thing. So to cut to the chase, I had cauliflower and leeks from the farmer’s market that I needed to use and thought I might be able to make a potato leek soup, without the potatoes. It was so simple and came out so well that I’m posting the recipe so I can make it again.
Cauliflower leek soup
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 3 small leeks (or 1 big one), chopped then cleaned well
- 1T olive oil
- 4 cups of water
- 2t chicken bouillon mix
- salt and pepper, to taste
Saute the leeks in olive oil until starting to soften. Add the cauliflower, water and bouillon and cook for an hour or until everything is very soft. Let cool and then puree in a blender until very smooth. Heat and serve.
This soup has the most amazing thick and creamy texture with a very mild flavor. You’d almost think it was full of cream or butter. The cauliflower makes a great base that doesn’t add any strong flavors. I’m going to try this same formula but substituting the leeks for asparagus or celery. You could also add some cream, butter and/or cheese. I tried the above recipe plain and then added some parmesan cheese. I actually think it was better plain. Maybe a drizzle of a nice fruity olive oil just before serving would be nice.