Anti-Inflammatory Cauliflower Carrot Soup

Anti-Inflammatory Cauliflower Carrot Soup

We love adding blended soups to our routine for a comforting dose of nutrients. You get all of the caramelized flavors of roasted vegetables in this soup, with the simplicity of a smooth, creamy soup. The coconut milk adds decadence to this cauliflower carrot soup, and it’s loaded with fiber-rich vegetables, healing herbs, and comforting broth. We recommend making an extra batch to freeze and sip on whenever you need to warm up.

Cauliflower power

Cauliflower is the base of this cleansing soup and helps create a smooth, creamy texture. Not only do we love the flavor of cauliflower, but it also comes with quite a few benefits for the body. We love blending foods to help decrease the stress on our digestive system, especially when cleansing. This becomes particularly powerful with foods rich in fiber, like cauliflower, to further support our digestion. Cauliflower is also a good source of antioxidants, which can help fight inflammation and free radicals in the body.

Garlic protection

Garlic is an excellent choice year-round, but in particular when cold-season hits. Garlic contains a compound called alliin, which turns to allicin when chewed or crushed. It’s believed that this helps improve white blood cell activity, which helps the immune system fight viruses. Regular consumption of garlic has been shown to help prevent getting a cold but is also helpful at decreasing the duration of colds you do catch. We recommend keeping this soup on hand to sip on regularly, and you can even double up on the garlic to add more flavor and immunity-boosting benefits.

Turmeric purification

Turmeric, along with carrots, helps give this soup its pretty golden hue. Turmeric is a powerful herb that has long been used medicinally. It contains an important compound called curcumin, which, although it is powerful it is hard for the body to absorb. The good news is you can easily increase your body’s ability to utilize curcumin by pairing with black pepper. While we always love getting most of our nutrients in food form (like dried or fresh turmeric root), many studies suggest that taking a turmeric supplement is an excellent way to reap all the benefits.

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower head

3-4 large carrots

1 leek

1/2 white onion

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

1 tablespoon fresh garlic

1/2 tablespoon dried turmeric

4 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup olive oil

Parsley and pinenuts for topping

Avocado oil for roasting

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove stem and leaves from cauliflower and chop. Remove stems from carrots. Slice leek, keeping only the white portion. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and mince garlic and ginger.

Step 2: Toss cauliflower and carrots with a drizzle of avocado oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are caramelized and tender. Toss halfway through baking time.

Step 3: While vegetables are roasting, heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil to the pan, then add leeks and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, occasionally stirring, until fragrant and lightly browned (5-6 minutes). Next, add ginger, garlic, and turmeric to the pot. Cook, occasionally stirring, for 4-5 minutes.

Step 4: Add stock, coconut milk, roasted cauliflower, and carrots to the pot. Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover soup, and cook for 10 minutes. While soup simmers, mince parsley and lightly toast pinenuts (if using for garnish).

Step 5: Remove soup from heat. In batches, spoon the mixture into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until the soup is creamy and smooth. You can serve immediately, store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for three months.

Recipe and photography by Kaitlyn Noble

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Warm up with Instant Pot lentil soup