How was your weekend?
Stephen and I literally spent Saturday and Sunday snowed in to our apartment! We were complete couch potatoes (since we couldn’t drive anywhere) and had a Harry Potter marathon! I’ve gotta say, I love them more and more each time I watch them! Anyway, because of the awful weather we’ve been having, I decided to share this cauliflower soup recipe a little earlier than scheduled because I think we could all use a bit of warmth and comfort.
Now, I can’t take 100% credit for this idea, because Stephen was the one who brilliantly suggested a cauliflower version of his favorite, minestrone soup. But man, it’s SO good! It does have a few steps, roasting the cauliflower and tomatoes takes about 40 min, but once that is done you simply blend, stir and serve!
My favorite part of this soup, besides how gorgeous it is, is the depth of flavor the roasted cauliflower and tomatoes give the soup. That in combination with the lentils makes this the perfect comfort food for a snow day! Honestly, I made a huge batch on Friday and we simply reheated it all weekend. Let me say, eating this soup wrapped in a blanket while watching a movie is pretty much heaven. And like a minestrone, it’s not cream based so it’s crazy good for you, too! Now, to make this soup extra special I decided to top it with fresh thyme, a parsley cream drizzle, olive oil, and a bit of the roasted cauliflower. These really take the soup over the top and, I definitely recommend NOT leaving them out!
- 1 head of cauliflower (broken into sections)
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 4-6 small tomatoes (halved)
- ½ cup green lentils
- 3 tsp. salt
- A few cracks ground pepper
- 32 oz. vegetable broth
- Parsley Cream
- 1 head of parsley
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- Add the cauliflower to a bowl and combine with the olive oil and paprika. Toss to coat evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- To a parchment lined baking sheet, add the cauliflower and the tomatoes and bake for about 30-40 minutes (or until the tomatoes are soft and the cauliflower is flecked with golden brown).
- Meanwhile, add the olive oil and garlic to a large pot. Heat over a medium-high temp and cook until the garlic begins to brown. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent.
- Add half of the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Rinse the lentils well then add them to the onion/broth mixture. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
- Once finished, combine the tomatoes and cauliflower (reserving about ¼ cup of the cauliflower) in a food processor along with the other half of the vegetable broth. Pulse until smooth and creamy.
- Combine with the lentil mixture and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
- To make the cream, combine the parsley, and greek yogurt in the food processor and blend until smooth.
- To serve, I drizzled the soup with a parsley cream and the reserved cauliflower.
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