Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup

Cauliflower and sweet potatoes are seasoned with fresh turmeric and coconut milk to make this creamy winter time soup.

I had seen a recipe somewhere for a soup that had cauliflower, sweet potatoes and coconut milk in it;  but, I cannot find the book anywhere.  I decided I would create my own version and I wanted it to be light and somewhat curry like.  I was lucky to find some fresh turmeric last week and thought it would be the perfect addition to this soup.  I have never worked with fresh turmeric before and I was not sure what to expect.  Fresh turmeric looks like ginger, actually, rather knobby but orange.  I decided to use a microplane and zest it with the onion while it was cooking – the color was brilliant a beautiful bright yellow and the scent ….. YUM!!   After I pureed the soup I added a small amount of coconut milk, only enough to really bring out the flavor of the turmeric and to create that nice warm Thai inspired flavor I was after.  It was a success.  Not only was this soup fantastic the first night, the second evening it was even better.

Recipe:  Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

1 head of cauliflower, washed, stemmed and cut into chunks

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small knob fresh turmeric, zest or use dry turmeric, to taste

4 cups veggie stock

1/4 cup  coconut milk

kosher salt, to taste

cilantro, garnish

harissa, garnish

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the turmeric, stir.  Add the cauliflower and sweet potato, stir and cook for about 15 minutes, until very fragrant.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a low simmer and cover.  Cook until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes.  Process in a food processor, in batches, returning to medium saucepan.  Gently reheat over low heat, stir in the coconut milk.  Season with salt. Garnish with cilantro and the harissa.  Serve.  Eat.