Fall is in the air and I’ve been craving soup…warm, nourishing, and spicy soup! Last year, a friend of mine made a curried cauliflower soup that was delicious. I don’t have her recipe, and so I was inspired to create my own and to do it in the easiest way I could.
This means, I pulled together the vegetables that I thought might work well based on what I remember of the soup and of a balti potato and cauliflower dish I love, chopped them up and placed them altogether on the same pan.
BEFORE:
I also threw in some cashews for creaminess…roasting them right alongside the veg in their last few minutes in the oven.
AFTER:
I then quickly pan-toasted some spices – black mustard seed, curry powder, and chile powder (at my husband’s request, I ended up adding a bit more than I’ve included in the recipe below – he likes his food hot) – and added some broth to the mix.
And finally, I added in the vegetables and cashews for a quick simmer before pureeing them and pouring in the last of the broth and a pinch of salt.
The whole thing took less than an hour, from chop to slurp. And it was tasty without being overpowering. The curry and mustard balance the sweetness of the yam, the cashews add creaminess, and the roasting process mellows out the garlic and onions. Oh, and did I mention it tastes great with a hard apple cider? The cold, crisp taste alongside the hot and mildly spicy soup was great.
For me, this will be a repeat throughout the winter.
Curried cashew cauliflower and sweet potato soup
This recipe is both gluten-free and dairy-free; it does contain nuts.
Notes
Notes: To roast the vegetables, use a high smoke-point oil; melted ghee works well, too. – Add additional chile powder if you like it hot.
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato (the orange ones – AKA yams)
- 1 small head of cauliflower
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅔ cup raw cashews
- 4 cups broth or stock
- 1½ tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp chile powder
- 1 tsp black mustard seed
- ½ tsp salt
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Chop yams, cauliflower, and onions into large, evenly-sized chunks (about 1-2”). Place in a mixing bowl with the garlic cloves. Toss with 3 tablespoons of oil until well-coated. Pour vegetables onto a lightly greased baking sheet and put sheet in oven.
- After 15 minutes, flip vegetables over as best as you can to prevent bottom sides from burning.
- After 10 more minutes, sprinkle the raw cashews on top of the vegetables and let them stay in the oven for 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven when done. Vegetables and cashews should be golden.
- During those last 5 minutes, heat a soup pot to medium high heat on the stove. When the pot is hot enough, sprinkle the curry powder, chile powder, and mustard seeds evenly across the pot’s bottom. Stir spices to prevent them from burning. Toasting them this way will bring out their flavor.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the broth to the spice mixture and then add the roasted vegetables and cashews. Stir mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour all of the pot’s ingredients into a blender or food processor and liquefy, adding more of the broth as needed. Pour puree, remaining broth, and ½ tsp salt to pot and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- For color, garnish with a wedge of lemon and a sprig of cilantro. Serve.