Warming up the hearts of loved ones during the holiday season with this delicious heart-healthy soup. I absolutely love making my own soup because it contains less sodium and knowing all the ingredients within my soup. I also prefer making my own veggie broth because it’s so easy to do and it’s less expensive than buying veggie broth. It is extremely simple to make and a pot of soup can easily serve up to 6 people.
This soup is a perfect addition to a group dinner or if you need to pack lunch to work. It’s simple and easy to make if you’re on a time restriction. I usually make this cauliflower for lunch and that’s enough to feed my boyfriend and I for 2 days!
This is the perfect soup to keep yourself warm during the cold winter months!
PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES || COOKING TIME: 60 MINUTES
Ingredients:
6 cups of water
1 cup of chopped 2″ celery sticks (approximately 4 long sticks of celery)
1.5 cups of chopped carrots
1 medium Cauliflower (chopped into medium sized florets)
1/2 tsp of thyme (can use dried or fresh thyme)
1 medium sized bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp of soft margarine (can use butter as substitute)
1 medium size onion (chopped)
Cooking Instructions:
Baked Cauliflower & Carrots:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- place the butter, 1 cup of carrots and cauliflower in a baking dish and toss to coat the vegetables.
- sprinkle some salt and pepper on the carrots and cauliflower so it will absorb in all the flavour.
- Bake it for 30 minutes and make sure you turn the dish half way to avoid burning on one side.
- Take it out and set it aside when it’s ready.
Vegetable Broth:
- In a medium pot, set the stove to medium-high heat and pour in all the water.
- Place all the celery and remainder of the carrots into the pot.
- Bring the broth to a boil and turn down the heat to medium.
- Let the broth simmer for 20 minutes to absorb all the flavour. Make sure you cook the veggies until they’re tender.
- Place the pot aside when it’s ready.
Cauliflower Soup:
- In a large pot, set the stove to medium heat and pour in 1 cup of vegetable broth.
- Put in the onions, thyme, and bay leaf and combine well.
- Continue cooking and mixing until the onions are cooked and looking brown – approximately 5-8 minutes.
- Pour in the remainder of the vegetable broth including the celery and carrots – combine well with the onions.
- Place all the baked cauliflower and carrots into the large pot and mix well.
- Turn down the heat to low-medium and allow it to simmer for another 5 minutes to absorb all the flavour.
- Now, remove the bay leaf and discard it.
- Turn off the heat and set the large pot aside.
- Using a hand blender (or regular blender), purée all the ingredients in the pot to create a thick soup base.
- Now, place the soup back onto the stove and set the stove to low-medium heat.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Make sure you do a taste test to see check the flavour of the soup.
- Turn the heat off and your soup is ready to be served!
Serve your soup with a side of fresh bread (Tastes amazing with a slice of baguette or sour dough bread) OR Melba Toast (thin and crispy sliced toast) which is an excellent pairing to the soup.
**Hint: You can also use a variety of side dish such as Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, pan fried potatoes, or a salad as an excellent alternative.