So the Teen likes soup. Well, not just any soup. She doesn’t like ‘the creamy stuff’ as she calls it, dismissing it as ‘a bit cloying.’ I face a conundrum – she’d like cauliflower soup but with no milk, cream or coconut milk in it. All the recipes I have add some form of creaminess to the mixture.

After looking through a few, well-thumbed, cookbooks, I conjured up the following recipe to tickle the taste buds of my attic-dwelling teen. I wanted to combine what seemed like the best aspects of a few and then to give it a try-out. A culinary experiment, as it were.

And she loved it and so did I (which is strange as I am not a great fan of soup or anything which is a measure of ‘sameness’ in a bowl!).

I used butter as it gave a richness to the soup but that’s a personal preference. This recipe can be made to suit vegans by changing the butter to two tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil and not using chicken stock (eh…obviously!). Removing the butter will also make the recipe dairy-free.

We liked the addition of cayenne pepper as it gave it a little kick but again, that is simply our preference. The soup will be tasty without it too. As I used a commercial stock, I left out salt as there was already plenty. We didn’t feel the need to add more. And it also freezes perfectly.

What can I say? R-e-s-u-l-t!

 Spiced Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, washed and cut into chunks with the stem and greens removed
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 ounces butter or 1 ounce of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil or two tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 pint chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the onion until soft
2. Add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes
3. Add the spices and fry for another couple of minutes
4. Add the cauliflower and coat with the spiced onion mix
5. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer
6. In about 15 minutes, when the cauliflower is cooked, place it in a blender and blitz until smooth
7. Return to the pan
8. Heat through
9. Season with salt and pepper.