Sunday's Soup

Holiday themed food can be fun! I found a very simple recipe for Creamy Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup that sounded quite nice, so I gave it a try. The ingredients are basically, garlic, cauliflower and asparagus. Doesn't get much simpler! You can find the original recipe HERE. If you have company coming who is vegetarian/vegan, this would be a great soup to have on hand and or serve. There is no dairy in the recipe, so perfect for the vegans, and if you aren't vegan, perfect for your waistline ;)

Creamy Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• cayenne pepper, or to taste

• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons nasturtium petals, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons diced asparagus tips, or more to taste

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic in hot oil until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir chicken broth, cauliflower, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper into garlic. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Stir 2 pounds asparagus into cauliflower mixture and increase heat to high. Cook until asparagus is tender but still bright green, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth; season with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.

I made 2 changes to the recipe. First, I left out the cayenne. I pureed a roasted red pepper and added hot chili oil to the puree and then topped my soup with the puree. I also used a vegetable broth rather than the chicken broth for a true vegan version. The soup is now in keeping with Christmas colors and the pepper sauce makes for a nice addition to the soup.  

There is a video that accompanies this recipe and you can find it here, http://allrecipes.com/video/4640/creamy-asparagus-and-cauliflower-soup/detail.aspx

Additions can be made to the recipe, like adding chopped onion, green onions, shallots, or leeks. The soup is quite fragrant and full bodied without the addition of the onions, but if you really like onions, add away!!

Enjoy!