Soup has a permanent place in our weekly meal plan – its nourishing, you can put pretty much anything in it, and it’s a great way to get some gut healing bone broth into our day. Our most successful soups are blender soups – they are smooth and easy for our toddler to eat. That kid seriously loves soup, especially if you give him a straw to slurp it up with. Whatever works, right?
My go-to soup tends to be a variation of a standard lentil-root veggie recipe. Most root veggies work, but I tend to go for butternut squash, acorn squash or sweet potatoes. Add a bit of curry spice, blend it up, and there you go.
This time, I was inspired to come up with something entirely new, when my mom asked if I could split a bunch of leeks with her. They’re usually sold in bunches of three, and she only needed one (she’s not a bulk meal prepper, that one). I knew I wanted to use the leeks in soup, so I kept my eye out for a perfect complementary vegetable as I walked around the grocery store. My gaze came to rest on a giant head of organic cauliflower. This one was on sale for $3.49, so I took it as a sign.
This soup came together really quickly, especially since I planned ahead and pre-chopped the veggies. I let my son amuse himself with transferring the cauliflower back and forth between two bowls using a pair of tongs, while I sautéed the first few ingredients. Once that was done, I quickly dumped everything into the pot and let it all simmer for a while. A quick blend, and we were ready to sit down for lunch.
This silky soup is low carb but packed full of antioxidants and nutrients, and it comes together fast! It's perfect for a busy weeknight supper when paired with a simple protein.
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped (toss the stems and leaves in there too!)
- 2 leeks, chopped, including most of the green parts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 1 litre chicken bone broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
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Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and onion and sauté until onion starts to become transparent. Add the garlic, cumin and cloves, and sauté another minute.
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Add the chicken broth, water and cauliflower. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until cauliflower is soft. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
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Using an immersion blender, blend soup until it’s smooth and silky. If you’re planning to eat this right away, bring it back to the stove and heat back up over low-medium heat.
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Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve!
- If you can, chop up your cauliflower, leeks and onions before hand (might I suggest the night before you make it, after putting your littles to bed?). Do this, and you can easily whip this soup up in that crazy half hour between daycare/school and dinner time.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, a decent blender or food processor will do the job. Consider cooling the soup a bit longer if you use these methods, however, to avoid a potential hot exploding disaster.
- This recipe makes almost 3 litres of soup, so I highly recommend freezing some or giving some away (who doesn’t love the gift of soup?!).
What’s so great about leeks and cauliflower?
Leeks are part of the allium family, which are rich in sulfur compounds and flavonoids. These properties are amazing for detoxification and the antioxidants are great for supporting cardiovascular health and reducing inflammation. Leeks are also high in folate, so if you’re expecting or hoping to conceive, this one’s for you!
Cauliflower is often overlooked (and overcooked ☹), unless you’re into low-carb cooking. It is in fact low in carbs and super versatile (hello, cauliflower crust pizza), but it has some great health benefits, too! Like broccoli, cauliflower is one of the brassica veggies, which contain high levels of various phytochemicals, plus essential vitamins, carotenoids, fiber, soluble sugars, minerals, and phenolic compounds. All those nutrients help fight cancer, reduce inflammation, boost immunity and aids in detoxification.
These veggies are a serious powerhouse, friends. Eat up!
Why make one meal when you can make four?
This makes a ton of soup. It freezes really well, so go ahead and ladle it into some jars and save for a super busy night when you just want to order pizza. If you’re portioning it out while still hot, please DON’T pour it into plastic containers! Heat (and fat) will leach all those nasty chemicals right into your food and you don’t want that. Pick up some mason jars, or just save the glass jars from pasta sauce, pickles, and olives, and use those!
