It’s almost spring! At least close enough to start thinking about getting seeds started for the garden. I was reading the back of a pack of cauliflower seeds at the market and they said to start indoors and plant outdoors “before the last frost.” It’s not quite time here, but it is a lot of other places – I saw an acquaintance on Facebook had daffodils already. Mine just started peeking out of the ground, but it’s going to be awhile before there are flowers.
A local bread maker was set up at the entrance of the market handing out samples; they even had butter. I tried a multi-grain and it was excellent so I bought a loaf – it was $5.50 – probably won’t do that very often, but it was really good bread. The best deal was the yogurt. The Brown Cow brand which is regularly $1.49 at Safeway was regularly $.89 at MOM’s but on sale for $.79.
Anyway, I already discussed the nutritional and health benefits of cauliflower and it’s one of the early spring plants so here is a great soup. I made it with and without the dairy to compare the two versions and it is equally good without the cheese and cream. They look and taste the same, one is just obviously slightly creamier, but it’s creamy either way. You can also leave out the nuts or substitute pine nuts, but it adds protein and helps make the dairy-free version richer.
Cauliflower Soup – Slow Cooker
1 head cauliflower cut into small florets
1 T coconut oil
2 chopped green onions
1 large chopped shallot
2 crushed cloves garlic
1/2 C white wine
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
4 C low-sodium organic broth
1/2 C cashews
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 C heavy cream (opt.)
1/2 C shredded cheese (opt.)
Heat the slow cooker pot over medium high on the stove top. Add the oil, onions, shallot, and garlic; sauté for about 5 minutes or until they are translucent and soft. Add the wine, paprika, and Worcestershire; cook until wine reduces by half.
Put the pot on the slow cooker and add the cauliflower, broth, cashews, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for about 6-8 hours or high for about 3-4 hours, or until cauliflower is very soft.
Stir in the cream and cheese if you want to use it, then ladle soup into a blender (in batches). Puree until creamy and smooth. Pour from the blender into another pot or bowl until you puree the whole batch, then put it back into the slow cooker.
Heat through while you get everything else ready.
