This creamy vegan cauliflower leek soup is a breeze to make - just roast & blend! I love it with a hunk of crusty bread on the side.
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 3 as a main, 4-5 as a starter or side
Ingredients
About 2 cups chopped cauliflower
2-3 leeks, white and very light green parts, chopped (about 1 to 1½ cups)
2 garlic cloves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
½ cup raw, unsalted, un-roasted cashews, soaked overnight* (see note)
1½ teaspoons miso paste (or just salt if you don't have any)
Leaves from a few sprigs of marjoram or thyme
3 cups water
2 tablespoons more olive oil (to blend into the soup)
⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika (or more to taste)
Squeeze of lemon
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Splash of white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar, at the end (especially if you made yours too spicy like I did)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the cauliflower, leeks, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt & pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove when everything is starting to turn golden, but before the leeks are burning (if a few get too charred, it's ok, just pick them out later).
Add to your blender the veggies you just roasted, drained cashews, marjoram leaves, miso paste, a squeeze of lemon and 1½ cups water. Blend until pureed. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, and the remaining 1½ cups water. Blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Pour into a medium saucepan and heat just until the soup is warm. Stir in a little more water if it's too thick. Serve with bread on the side.
Notes
*Be sure to use plain raw cashews or your soup will taste too much like cashews. If you're using a high speed blended (vitamix or blendtec), you could get away with soaking your cashews for less time because the blender will liquify everything thoroughly anyway.
Recipe by Love and Lemons at https://www.loveandlemons.com/creamy-cauliflower-leek-soup/