Coconut Curry Cauliflower Soup

Coconut Cauliflower Soup

 

I recently made some delicious coconut milk & blood orange popsicle from Fork, Knife, Swoon’s beautiful blog but ended up with about a cup of coconut milk leftover (I only used half of her recipe). Since it was a cold, raining day I decided to use the rest of the coconut milk in a delicious batch of (no cream) curried cauliflower soup.

  • Olive oil
  • 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 32 ounces vegetable broth
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garnish options: fresh parsley, olive oil, roasted nuts

Begin by heating the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes (do not let garlic burn). Add the cauliflower, broth, curry powder and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Simmer until florets are tender, about 12-15 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return soup to the pot and stir in the coconut milk. Add additional salt and pepper to taste or any additional spices.

Garnish with a little olive oil, parsley or toasted nuts.

Coconut Cauliflower Soup

 


Adapted from The Kitchn Vegan Cauliflower Soup recipe

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Sweet Curry Roast Chicken

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My dear friend Celest and I would often visit our neighborhood spice shop, Savory Spice Shop, in Sonoma County for freshly ground and handcrafted spices and seasonings. This quaint shop offers an array of specialty salts to the best spice blends for any recipes. On our last visit, Celest picked up this beautiful Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry spice blend but never got around to using it. A few weeks ago, we said our goodbyes to each other as she was moving back home to Australia. As she was packing up, she passed along heaps (HEAPS!) of delicious goodies from her kitchen, including this beautiful spice blend and recipe.

This easy to make curry roast chicken is packed with flavor but still light and refreshing! Serve over coconut rice or rice noodles along with a crisp, bright white wine.

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Chicken

  • 4 organic chicken leg quarters
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons Savory Spice Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry*
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

Mix together the oil, curry, cumin, fish sauce and soy sauce together to make paste. Rub chicken pieces with paste and place in zip lock to marinate in refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours. When chicken is ready, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lay sliced onion across bottom of baking dish. Place chicken pieces on top of onions and roast in oven until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 1¼ hours. When chicken is done, start the sauce.

Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 cup broccoli crowns, sliced
  • 1 cup bok choy, sliced
  • 1 cup carrots, sliced ( I used rainbow carrots in this dish)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup light coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • Fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat oil over medium-high heat in saucepan. Add vegetables and cook for a few minutes until they just start to soften. Add roasting juices from cooked chicken dish, chicken broth, coconut milk and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce is reduced by about half.

Pour sauce over chicken pieces when ready to serve and garnish with cilantro.

* this ingredient is from a local spice shop in Sonoma County. To make your own, combine white sugar, turmeric, lemongrass, cumin,black pepper, paprika, salt, coriander, garlic, cardamom, cayenne and curry leaves.

Cheers, Crystal

Adapted from a recipe by Andy Klein, One Ten Thai chef/owner.

Pumpkin Curry Soup With Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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In honor of the fall season (and my LOVE for coconut milk) I decided to make and share with you this simple Pumpkin Curry soup recipe. My favorite part about cooking with pumpkins are roasting the seeds afterwards. They’re so easy to make and there are SO many different options for dressing them up: roasted with sea salt, cajun, cocoa…for a sweet treat, curry power, lemon pepper, pumpkin pie spices…oh and the list goes on.

Pumpkin Seeds

The longest part to the below recipe is roasting and peeling the pumpkin so plan on roasting it for at least 30-40 minutes (this can also be done ahead of time). After the roasting the rest is as easy as pumpkin pie. 

Pumpkin Curry Soup with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

  • 1 medium Sugar Pumpkin – seeded, roasted and peeled
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • 1/4 cup carrots, diced
  • 1/4 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Sea salt for pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the sugar pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and place them in a bowl to the side. Discard the steam. Rub both sides of the fresh pumpkin with a 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Place the pumpkin, flesh down, on a baking sheet rimmed with foil. Roast for 30 – 40 minutes.

Roasting Pumpkins

While the pumpkin is roasting, clean the discarded pumpkin seeds throughly by removing any left over pumpkin pulp and rinsing them in water with a  colander. Inspired by Elise’s recipe for the perfect roasted pumpkin seeds, I boiled the seeds for 5-10 minutes in salted water. Drain the seeds, lightly pat them dry and then toss them lightly in olive oil. Arrange the seeds on a baking dish, coat lightly with sea salt and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them so that they do not burn! Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

After the pumpkin has slightly cooled, peel and dice it. Melt the butter in a soup pot and then add the pumpkin, onions, carrots, celery and garlic.

Diced Veggies

Cook on medium heat until soft. Add the curry, ginger, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk (reserving a little bit for garnish) and the rest of the chicken stock and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in a blender until smooth. Garnish with warmed coconut milk drizzle and roasted pumpkin seeds. 

Serves 4 – 6

Pumpkin Curry Soup