Curried Cauliflower Soup with Micro Green Salad

My family is loving Thai flavors so I’m finding creative ways, like this Curried Cauliflower Soup, to work them into easy weeknight dinners. 

Although I have a regular meal rotation that fill the majority of my weekly menus, I make a point to make one new dish each week. I enjoy the variety and it keeps things fresh for my family. As an added bonus, my seven year old has learned to try new foods – because we’re all experiencing new things together. This summer, we’ve been playing with Thai flavors like curry paste, coconut milk and cilantro. This has been an absolute hit with the whole family so I’m going to use it as much as I can!

With this soup, I wanted to give my Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup a curry twist. With a little bit of heat and a lighter texture, it beautifully bridges the gap between summer and fall. The Micro Green salad, which can be made with any kind of sprouts, adds a bright and fresh note into a flavor profile that could otherwise get heavy.

Curried Cauliflower Soup with Micro Green Salad

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 head cauliflower

4 large carrots

1 yellow onion

3 tsp green curry paste

1 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground mustard

3 cups chicken broth (or veggie)

2 cans coconut milk

1 cup sunflower seed sprouts or pea shoots

1-2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced

1 lime

small handful of cilantro, chopped

salt & pepper

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop your cauliflower and carrots, spreading evenly on a baking sheet and drizzling with about a tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and roast for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. While your vegetables are roasting, heat remaining olive oil over medium low heat in a Dutch Oven or similar soup friendly pot. Add in onions and cook until lightly browned (be careful here – you just want a little color on the onions, if they burn you’ll need to start over because burned onions are gross).
4. Add green curry paste, tomato paste, ginger and mustard to onions and stir well.
5. Stir in coconut milk and chicken broth, increasing heat to medium/medium high and bringing just to a simmer.
6. Once vegetables are done roasting, add them to the soup pot seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. In a separate bowl, combine sprouts, tomatoes, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice and set aside.
8. Use an immersion blender to blend soup until smooth, taste to adjust seasoning as you go.

Serve soup topped with micro green salad (or a dollop of sour cream). My husband and I like to drizzle a little chili oil on top for a bit of a extra heat!

The directions for this soup look more complicated than it really is. These are all ingredients that I might have in my kitchen now and can be used to make any of the curry recipes I’ve posted recently. Perhaps my favorite thing about this dish is that if you roast the cauliflower & veggies before hand (I did them the night before when I was making One Pot Thanksgiving Chicken), this a 15 minutes dinner.