Roasted Cauliflower & Leek Soup
Serves 3 as a main, 4-5 as a starter or side
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.
Ingredients
- About 2 cups chopped cauliflower
- 2-3 leeks, white and very light green parts, chopped (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 garlic cloves
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted un-roasted cashews, soaked overnight* (see note)
- 1 1/2 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 olive oil, more, to blend into the soup
- 1/8 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 1 1/2 cups water. Blend until pureed. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, and the remaining 1 1/2 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.