When winter refuses to rid itself and continues to make itself known for consistently making you cold and miserable everyday, one must make soup. A creamy, healthy soup is indeed the perfect wrap yourself cozy dinner. I'm one to love a creamy soup, but most of the time it's made with heavy whipping cream or sour cream. And well, neither of those ingredients are good friends of mine--I'm sure we can all agree, right? Not only is this creamy broccoli soup healthy, but it's also vegetarian, vegan AND gluten free. By replacing the heavy cream with cauliflower it gives it that delicious, creamy texture. Enjoy it hot or cold, fresh herbs like mint & parsley added to the mix give it tons of flavor. But chefs note---skip the green chilis. Super spicy is not for me. Next time I'll be sure to leave 'em out! |
Ingredients: Makes 6-8 Servings
Directions:
- 2 TB Coconut or Olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 head broccoli
- 5 cups water
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into mini florets
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch mint
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 1 lemon zest
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- In a large-sized soup pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic, onion and chili powder. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- In a separate medium sauce pan, add water and bring to a boil. Add in the cauliflower and boil for about 5-7 minutes or until slightly tender. Strain excess water and set aside.
- Cut the broccoli into mini florets, and add it into the garlic, onion pan.
- Bring to a light boil, add the parsley, mint, lemon, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cook mixture for about 5 minutes. Make sure to not overcook the broccoli, it should be a light green color once it's done.
- Once it's done, add this mixture into your Vitamix. If you don't have a powerful blender, you could also use an immersion blender. In this case, add the cauliflower to the soup pan and blend all together. Otherwise, add the cauliflower to the Vitamix as well and turn it to the soup setting. Blend until it's done!
- Pour back into the soup pan and taste test. Add additional lemon or seasonings to taste.
- If you like it spicy, add a dash of green chilis when you sautee the garlic and onion. I advise to add a VERY small pinch at a time as it is very strong. I added one whole green chili and it was too spicy for me.
- Serve either warm or cold and top with a sprinkle of goat cheese.