Why is it that sweet potatoes only get love during Thanksgiving around here? They’re such a healthy food to incorporate into one’s diet and you can make so much more with them than just candied sweet potatoes as a side dish.
Those who know me know how much I love a good bowl of soup- and that I like to turn a lot of great vegetables into purees in order to eat them as a soup. It’s no different than with sweet potatoes. Yes, it takes time to peel the skin off of their non-uniform surfaces, but so what? A little peeling can be seen as kitchen therapy, if you take it that way. That could be considered a practice in mindful eating, for real.
To make this soup, it’s super easy. Just follow the directions below and if you want to freeze it, be aware that because it has dairy in it, you may want to be sure to consume it in under three months time. If you’re vegan you could try a coconut creamer instead of the milk- and coconut and sweet potatoes go very well together in taste so that should be nice, too.
To get some of the best flavor from the broth while you’re also in a hurry, use the high quality and super convenient Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth by Saffron Road in this recipe. It can be found in many grocery stores in the organic food section, but also online. Check out their store locator for more details on a store near you who carries it.
This Spring started out rainy, then became the season I hoped it would be- beautiful fresh air throughout the day without a cloud in the skies, dew drops on the leaves in the morning, songbirds singing cheerfully, and new life appearing everywhere.
Sounds like something out of the Little House on the Prairie, right?
Well, that idyllic Spring season took a blustery turn this weekend and we spent it dodging winds, rain and what felt like dreary Fall days. I thought I’d be making pea soup by now, not something a little creamier and heartier, but this recipe for Cream of Cauliflower Soup came in handy. I hope you’ll like it, and enjoy it on much warmer days than we’ve been experiencing. It’s easy to make and super delicious, especially if you like soups as a hearty part of your meals.
I started out with a few simple ingredients- of course one head of cauliflower,
which is about 2 pounds (2 1/2 pounds with the stem attached)
Like most delicious things, this soup starts off with the lovely mixture of olive oil and butter. Then, once the butter froths (which protects the olive oil from heating too high and being ruined), add in the onions and garlic. Once those have softened, the cauliflower is added.
Let those cook for a few minutes to brown and soften, then add in the vegetable broth.
It’s such a deep and beautiful dark color, which means they’ve taken great care to slow cook the vegetables and make a true broth.
Next, the cauliflower should cook on low for about 20-25 minutes to completely soften them. After that time, the soup should be pureed with a hand mixer directly in the pan (though off the heat), or in a blender after the mixture has cooled.
It can be rewarmed in a pan before serving. I like to add freshly chopped parsley, though on a blistery day like yesterday when my kitchen garden is not right outside my doorstep, the dried parsley was the next best thing.
What’s your favorite vegetable to use in a creamy style soup?
1 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, unsalted and crushed
Sea salt, to taste
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup Saffron Road Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth
Freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil gently.
Add the minced garlic and onion at the same time.
Next, add the tomatoes, salt and sugar.
Bring pot to a boil, then reduce to a low heat. Cook on low for about 5 minutes or until cooled.
Puree with a hand blender. Add broth and half and half. Stir and bring back to the fire and warm gently.
Remove from heat, add to bowls and top with fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
It’s easy to enjoy the flavor of summer during our cold and blistery winter months, if you’ve jarred or preserved your own fresh tomatoes or have a favorite brand to buy. I love this recipe for creamy tomato soup because it reminds me of summer without worrying about having to use a fresh seasonal product.
Although it is creamy, I still use a bit of broth to thin it out to the desired consistency. If you like your soup thinner, you can always add more broth. I use the Saffron Road All Natural Classic Culinary Vegetable Broth, which is low in sodium and certified halal.
Watch how I make it here:
It’s really an easy recipe to make and if you have a hand blender, you can make it as smooth as you like. Otherwise, use a food processor or blender to blend as smooth as you like, but only once the soup is cooled.
My favorite way to have this soup is with toast and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches, but there are no rules…
Do people ever question certain foods you like to eat or drink in the summer? Not the winter, but just the hot summer time.
They might say things like, ‘How can you eat that(insert said food/drink)when it’s so hot outside?” No one ever really questions you when you have a big bowl of ice cream in the dead of winter, just because you wanted it, right?
Well, that’s why I’m going to talk about soup.
In the summer.
Because it’s a good idea.
Especially during Ramadan.
And here are a few of my reasons why:
They’re hydrating- hello, lots and lots of liquid!
If you use broths, they’re chock full of vitamins, minerals and more nutrients than what you get by just using water
A warm bowl of soup isn’t bad for you just because it’s not freezing cold outside. Besides many vegetarian soups are great even when served at room temperature or chilled. Think gazpacho!
When breaking the fast, a small cup or bowl of soup can help your body ease into eating food again. Going straight to your stomach, it actually prepares it for the next thing you feed it.
Soups are a great extender- it can feed a lot of people with fewer ingredients, making it an economical dish that is perfect for large families or hosting large amounts of people.
Soups help your weekly menu, a LOT. Why? Because all you have to do is make a huge pot of of it and a family of four to six can have it for at least a couple of days. Most soups also freeze well.
I’m a fan of soups, especially vegetarian ones so I may be a bit biased on the taste of it all, but the truth is that soups are a great accompaniment to main meals for all of the above reasons. The trick really is getting the base flavor done right, which all depends on what you want your soup to taste like, in terms of type of cuisine.
This soup I’m showing you how to make here is more of a Mediterranean style soup, but much of the ingredients grow in my Illinois backyard during the summer, so it can very well be an all-American summer soup recipe, too. What I love about it is that it’s vegetarian, so it can be eaten at room temperature and still taste good, and you can tweak it in all sorts of ways to make it different, make it your own.
It starts out with the basic base of almost every good soup: olive oil (or some kind of healthy oil), onion, garlic. Adding the peppers makes it a little more unique and could almost add a Latin flair if it were not for the eggplant.
If you were going for an Asian flavor, you might use sesame oil as a base; for a South Asian flavor you could try adding fresh ginger to the garlic and onion base; for something more Italian, add tomatoes/tomato paste, or even a mix of celery/carrot/onion- also known as mirepoix.
I chop up everything quite small in this recipe because vermicelli noodles (aka: “fideos” in Latin circles) are chopped and small, too. I don’ t want the veggies to overpower that; I want them to match.
Add olive oil, about 1/8 cup which equals 2 tablespoons.
Did you know that those handy small measuring cups make it super easy to measure out the commonly-called-for 2 tablespoons?
Once the oil is hot but not burning, of course, I add the onions. Don’t let them brown too much. Add the red peppers.
And the green ones. Or vice versa. It doesn’t matter which color goes in first, at least not to me.
Add the eggplant and the garlic. I don’t like garlic to burn- it turns dishes bitter when that happens. Instead, I always try to add it with another cushion- in this case, that’s the soft eggplant.
Next, add the freshest dried herbs you can find. I recognize that’s an oxymoron. But, it’s true. Find the best dried spices because they’re most pungent. I picked mine, let them dry out for three days in my kitchen and they were perfect. All I had to do was crush them. It’s a mix of about one to two tablespoons of basil, oregano and mint. Add sea salt and black pepper, to taste.
That should cook down and absorb all the oil, then you’ll add the best feature of the recipe, which is a low-sodium, all vegetarian and very rich vegetable broth. I use the Saffron Road brand because it’s not only what I trust to be good, it’s also halal- no added gelatin for sure, and the ingredients are pure quality. There’s a huge difference between adding water, good broth and really poorly made broth to a soup.
I use one entire box for this soup.
Look at how deep and complex the colors of the soup are.
Let it come to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then add the fideos/vermicelli (about 1 and 3/4 cups).
Let them cook until fully softened, about 5-7 minutes.
At this point, I add about one cup of water just because I’m trying to reach the consistency that my family and I prefer. If you feel like you don’t need any extra liquid, just continue cooking. Be aware, however, that the fideos/vermicelli noodles will expand and leave you less liquid than was there before. Adjust for salt and pepper, as needed.
Serve warm or hot, depending on how you like it.
Variations include adding tomato to the base, as well as adding small strips of chicken or beef for protein.
Have I convinced you to have soup throughout the summer, especially during Ramadan?
UPDATE:
The winner of this giveaway is Maritza Maritza. Please contact us as soon as possible with your full name, address and phone number!
If so, tell me what you would make with the Saffron Road Culinary Classic Vegetable Broth in the comments below and you could be eligible to win this lovely gift basket by Saffron Road, full of goodies such as their globally-inspired Simmer Sauces, the Culinary Classic Vegetable Broth I just showed you all about, an apron to keep you tidy in the kitchen, a bag of their crunchy chickpeas (which are nonGMO, by the way) and some coupons.
