It might be obvious that I'm a huge fan of cauliflower, since I use it in several recipes in my cookbooks, as well as recipes on my site. Did you know that cauliflower makes a great base for soup?
Here's a velvety green dream of a soup-a creamy, fresh-greens medley, infused with a few good seasonings. In fact you'll recognize all the ingredients as pretty basic, except for the truffle salt I snuck in at the end.
My older son treated me to truffle salt and truffle oil this past holiday season and it's a great complement to cauliflower and other vegetable-based recipes. No worries if you don't have truffled salt or oil, as it will still have great flavor with a simple fine salt. And if you do ever have the opportunity to try truffle salt or truffle oil, do so-it adds a subtle depth of flavor to vegetable soups and purées.
You can switch out some of the greens and onions if need be, so read the headnotes for any subs along the way. I favor spinach, zucchini, green onions, and parsley for this recipe but many other green and herb combos will work. I particularly love the parsley since it maintains the soup's verdant color.
Here are some topping suggestions for this soup:
- garlic cashew cream
- cashew cream (from my first cookbook)
- yogurt
- goat cheese or other soft cheese
- roasted cauliflower (save some small pieces from step 2)
- crispy shallots or onions
- crumbled hard-boiled egg
Green Velvet Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower head trimmed and diced into chunks
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 5 green onions trimmed and diced
- 1 zucchini trimmed and diced
- 4 cups vegetable broth or water
- 10 ounces fresh spinach leaves
- 4 ounces parsley leaves about a handful
- ½ teaspoon truffle salt or regular salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C or gas mark 6) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.
- Mix together the diced cauliflower and garlic with 1 tablespoon of oil and ⅛ teaspoon salt and spread it across the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to brown on the edges.
- While the cauliflower is baking, heat a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it.
- Add the onions and zucchini to the saucepan and cook for 10 minutes or until the zucchini begins to soften and brown a bit.
- Add the cauliflower and 4 cups of vegetable broth or water to the onions and zucchini and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the zucchini are tender.
- Turn the heat off and add the spinach and parsley to the saucepan. Let the greens sit for a few minutes, or until they are wilted.
- Add the truffle salt and lemon juice and stir the soup to blend well.
- Using a blender, and immersion blender, or food processor, purée the soup in batches until it's all well-blended and creamy.
- Serve warm, or cold, or store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for a few months.
Kristin says
Where do you add the garlic??
Erica says
In step #2 🙂
Kristin says
I don't see where you add the 2 cloves of garlic??
Sherrie | With Food + Love says
Hi Erica!
Thanks so much for the shout out - my garlic cashew cream would be a perfect addition for such a yummy and green spring soup.
XO SHERRIE
Erica says
you're most welcome! Cheers!
Barbara says
Coukd you tell me at what point I combine the roasted cauliflower with the soup? Is it at simmering stage or blending stage? Many thanks
Erica says
Wow, thanks for catching that 🙂 - just added it in step 5 (when you add the water or broth).
Barbara says
Thank you. I made it and it is very yummy!
Erica says
Great to hear! Thanks.
Barbara says
Hi Erica, Happy New Year!
I still love making this green velvet soup.. find it great for weekday lunches.
I asked for truffle salt for Christmas and got it!! so Iam really excited to try it with that and see how it tastes.
Id really appreciate if you could tell me what else truffle salt works well with please?
Many thanks. Barbara
Beth says
Wow a very apt name for this soup. It is very velvety and rich tasting. It contains many of my favorite ingredients. I did have to substitute chicken broth for veggie. Thought I have some veggie but was out of it.
Love your recipes. All that I have tried are scrumptious. Can't believe they are so healthy and gluten free.
Thank you!
Erica says
Thanks, Beth! Truth be told, I use water most of the time since I rarely have vegetable broth ready-to-use, and it still tastes great.