Recently I have really been enjoying simple vegetable soups. I am still surprised by how such simple recipes can make such great soups. Many vegetable soups only have a few ingredients and yet they are so tasty. A while ago I came across this recipe for roasted cauliflower and red pepper soup. I really like roasted vegetables as roasting them adds a lot of flavour. Roasted red peppers are among my favorite roasted vegetables and I just had to try a roasted red pepper soup.

I had also been wanting to try roasting cauliflower so I roasted the cauliflower as well. This soup was super simple to make though it took a bit of time roasting and simmering. It turned out really tasty! The roasted red pepper was the star flavour and the cauliflower contributed a really nice texture and thickness to the soup. There are a lot of things that you can garnish a vegetable soup with including sour cream, fresh chopped herbs, pestos, etc. I garnished mine with a bit of sour cream the first time and some dukkah the second time. The dukkah was really good as a garnish for the soup. It added a bit of spice and heat and a nice contrasting crunchy texture.

 

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon oil

1 onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 roasted red peppers

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

3 cups stock or water (add more to thin the soup out if you like)

1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional garnish)

1 tablespoon sour cream (optional garnish)

1 tablespoon dukkah (optional garnish)

1 tablespoon herb (optional garnish, chopped)

 

Directions:

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the olive oil with the salt and pepper.

2. Arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer in a baking dish.

3. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

4. Heat the oil in a pan.

5. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.

6. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

7. Add the cauliflower, roasted red peppers, cayenne and stock.

8. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes.

9. Puree with a hand blender.

10. Serve garnished with heavy cream or dukkah or chopped herbs etc.