Cauliflower and white bean soup

Souping it up! The perfect way to get a light but protein rich meal.

This one is a little different to my normal tomato based soups and is a beautiful creamy white which a beautiful creamy texture to match.  This a beany based soup that I made earlier this week, but for those who read the update to my challenge...you should be seeing a lot more lentil and tofu based recipes in the coming days.

Don't ask why there are mushrooms on the side...I just fancied them and they looked nice! (they are not in the soup itself)

My soups often tell a lot about the contents of my fridge and on this occasion I had a surplus of cauliflower. Throw in some beans, a little onion and some herbs and you are good to go.

When it comes to soups I do love my Thermomix as it literally does everything for me! It chops and sautes the onion and then I set it to 100C cook/stir as I prep the remaining ingredients, then I throw those in too and increase the speed to chop them up a little before reducing back down to 'stir' mode and adding the veg stock to simmer for as long as necessary, then with one final blend you have a silky smooth soup. It totally frees me up to get on with washing up and photo shoot prepping. It's also particularly good for recipes that need to be stirred more constantly, like risotto or polenta.

That said, soup making is not difficult in any situation...a big pot and hand blender is usually all you really need, and since I know most of you don’t have a Thermomix, I tend to write up my recipes accordingly, just thought I’d share that little explanation with you.

I recently had a reader request to share some videos on my blog...in particular the ‘legendary’ TM in action. Videos are something  I’ve never considered before- a whole new world to me. I will see what I can set up in the next few weeks once I transition my blog to it’s new platform...that’s taking a lot longer than I originally anticipated (isn’t that always the way!)  but hopefully it won’t be too much longer!

Recipe: Cauliflower and white bean soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cauliflower

1 400g can cooked white beans (i.e cannellini or butter beans)

1 small white onion- sliced

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic- crushed

2 ½ cups vegetable stock

1tsp mixed dried herbs

Fresh parsley to garnish- optional

Method

Chop the cauliflower into small pieces and cook for approx. 5-6 minutes until beginning to soften.

Meanwhile saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 4-5 minutes until soft.

Add the onion, dried herbs and can of beans and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup until smooth.

Serve immediately garnished with parsley or other herbs as desired.

 
For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.