Sunday's Soup/Cream of Mushroom Without the Cream

Do you love Cream Of Mushroom soup, but would like the forgo the cream? I decided to take a look around and see if I could find a vegan cream of mushroom soup that actually sounded good. As luck would have it, I found THIS recipe that got my creative cooking thoughts going. Rather than milk and flour to thicken the soup and make it creamy, she used cauliflower. Turns out, cauliflower is one of those vegetables that you can substitute in so many recipes. 

Here's my version of the recipe;

Creamy Mushroom and Cauliflower Soup

4 cups cauliflower broken into small florets (appox. 1 medium head) 

4 cups portobello mushrooms diced

3 cups unsweetened almond milk

3 cloves garlic minced

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 large carrot finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper(optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Place cauliflower and almond milk in heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is tender, approximately 10 minutes.

2. Pour olive oil into a large bottomed pot. Add mushrooms, carrots, onions and garlic and red pepper. Cook over medium heat until mushrooms and carrots are tender.

3. Once cauliflower is tender, cream with a hand held blending stick or blend in a blender.

4. Combine creamed cauliflower with mushrooms. Add chopped sage, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes and serve.   

I broke my cauliflower into smaller florets to reduce cooking time. 

As you can see, once blended, the cauliflower has a lovely creamy consistency. 

So, is it the same as a traditional cream of mushroom soup? No. Is it good? No, it's great! 

This is a soup that would pack well for weekday lunches, so be sure to make up the entire recipe. 
Just think, cream of mushroom soup without all the fat and calories and the lowly little cauliflower is the magic ingredient. 
Be sure to check out all the wonderful recipes at Healthful Pursuit.
Enjoy!