Cauliflowers are chunky and cheap and have a multitude of culinary uses. They are perfect for making creamy style soups that are hearty crowd pleasers. For dieters, they make good sense as the cauliflower is low in calories – just 25 per 100 grams. A full cauliflower can weigh around a kilo, which translates roughly into 250 calories for the whole head of the vegetable. That's a lot of good eating!
Cauliflowers also offer a nutritional bonanza. They are high in Folate, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. Cauliflowers contain lots of fibre and have zero fat. What’s not to like about this wonderful vegetable?
Low Calorie Soup a Treat for Dieters
This is a low calorie soup that will help those who are watching their weight, with each serve carrying about 200 calories. If you add cream or milk to the soup, of course it will be necessary to keep track of those extra calories.
Cauliflower, Potato and Lentil Soup with a Curry Twist Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ a cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
- ½ a cup of red lentils, washed
- ½ a teaspoon of curry powder
- ½ a teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 litre, or thereabouts, of vegetable stock
Directions
- In a pan saute the chopped onion for approximately five minutes until it is translucent.
- Add the crushed garlic and stir for another minute.
- Add the chopped cauliflower and potato. Stir for a minute and add the vegetable stock. Bring the stock to a gentle boil and simmer.
- Stir through the half cup of washed lentils and make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan (this may call for some regular stirring until the lentils soften and break up.)
- Finally, add the cumin and curry powder.
- Simmer the whole pot for about 30 minutes. All of the lentils should have completely broken up and dissolved into the soup mixture, while the cauliflower and potato will have cooked right through.
- Allow the soup to cool for twenty minutes, then process the soup in batches in a blender. This will give the soup a final finish that is silky smooth and delicious. The soup is now ready to serve. It makes about two litres of soup and should serve about four people.
Serving Suggestions
But wait, there’s more! This curry twist cauliflower soup can be further enhanced by adding a dollop of cream when serving, or just some plain milk. Vegans should feel free to use soy milk to give a creamier flavour to the soup. It works just as well as cow’s milk.
Cauliflower, Potato and Lentil Soup with a Curry Twist simply begs to be served with some hearty, seeded bread. Either fresh or toasted will make this the perfect meal.
Chris Saliba - Chris Saliba is a freelance writer. Read more of his workplace articles at chrissalibafreelancewriter.blogspot.com
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