Roasted Cauliflower + Stinging Nettles Soup

Make the most of one of the season’s abundant and nutritious wild weeds with this easy soup recipe! Many people are scared to work with nettles, but they are quite easy to handle. Use gloves when harvesting to avoid getting stung. Ideally try to harvest young nettles, but if you gather more mature plants, just remove the thicker stems before cooking. (If you don’t want to forage your own nettles, you may find some clever farmers at your local market who are selling nettles that have infiltrated their fields.) Once nettles are cooked, they lose their stinging properties and are safe to handle and eat

Prep time: 45 mins–1 hour | Cook time: 40 minutes | Serves 2

Ingredients: 

1 small head of cauliflower (~ 2 cups)
3 teaspoons melted ghee or avocado oil, divided
1 shallot, sliced
2 giant handfuls of nettles (leaves and tender stems)
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss cauliflower with 2 teaspoons ghee/oil and spread it in an even layer on a baking tray. Season cauliflower lightly with salt. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping it halfway through cooking. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a medium pot, sauté the shallot in the remaining ghee/oil over medium-high heat. When it just begins to brown, add the cauliflower and just enough water to cover the cauliflower. When the soup begins to simmer, stir in the nettles and cook for 2 minutes.

Blend the soup using an immersion (stick) blender, or carefully use a conventional blender. Salt the soup to taste and enjoy immediately.

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Asparagus, Watercress and Roasted Cauliflower Soup

This vegan soup is springtime in a bowl.

Prep time: 15m | Cook time: 1h 15m | Total time: 1h 30m | Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower, chopped into large florets
3 T. olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped (white section only)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1" pieces (~3/4 pound)
1/2 cup cashews, soaked minimum 2 hours in water and drained
4 c. vegetable broth or water
1/8 c. parsley leaves
1 bunch watercress, roots removed and roughly chopped
3/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with 1 T. olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast cauliflower in oven for 30 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned, using a spatula to flip florets halfway through cooking. Let cauliflower cool while you proceed with remaining steps.

In a soup pot (3 qt. or larger), heat remaining 2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and leeks and sauté until translucent and soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic (if using) and cook another minute more. Stir in asparagus and roasted cauliflower, and cook 2 minutes before adding soaked cashews and broth/water. Raise heat to high, bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes, until both asparagus and cauliflower are very tender.

Turn heat off, then add parsley and watercress. Stir until leaves wilt slightly, then use an immersion (stick) blender to puree soup (alternatively, carefully puree soup in batches in a conventional blender and return to pot). Turn heat to low and stir in salt. Cook another 5-10 minutes and then serve.

Notes:

To maintain fresh green color, prepare soup just prior to serving. The longer it sits on the stove, the more color will fade.

Optionally, reserve and blanche a few asparagus tips in boiling water to use as garnish.

Variation: In place of cauliflower and cashews, use 1.5 lbs peeled and chopped potatoes.

Smoky Potato Leek Soup

A luscious velvety soup with a hint of smoked paprika.

Prep time: 20m | Cook time: 30m | Total time: 50m | Serves 6

Ingredients:

1.5 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 leeks, cleaned and chopped (whites only)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 t. fresh or dried thyme
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
Water or vegetable broth
1.5 T. smoked paprika
Salt

In a soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add onion and leeks and cook 12-15 minutes, until vegetables begin to brown and carmelize. Add celery and thyme, and cook 3 more minutes.
Add potatoes, and enough water or vegetable broth to cover the potatoes by about 1/4” (use more liquid for a thinner soup). Turn heat to high and bring contents of the pot to a boil, then reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Stir in smoked paprika, then turn off heat.

Using an immersion blender (or carefully blending batches in a conventional blender), puree soup.

Return the pot to the stove over a low flame, add salt to taste, and let the soup cook an additional 10-15 minutes before serving.

Notes:

For a traditional potato leek soup, simply omit the smoked paprika.

Summertime Chard & Mint Soup

This simple summer soup uses ingredients you might find in abundance in your garden, or at your local farmers market. Be sure not to skip the yogurt - it really brings out the flavors.

Prep time: 10m | Cook time: 30m | Total time: 40m | Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 zucchinis (~ 2 c.), peeled and chopped
6-8 c. vegetable broth (use more for a thinner soup; less for a thick soup)
1-1/2 lbs. chard, stems removed and roughly chopped
1 c. packed mint leaves
2 t. lemon juice
1 t. salt
Plain yogurt (unsweetened coconut or dairy)
Optional: Toasted slivered almonds and mint leaves for garnish

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onion until it is soft and beginning to brown (about 6-8 minutes). Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Then, add zucchini and vegetable broth, raise heat to high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Cover pot, turn heat to medium-low and simmer another 6-8 minutes, until zucchini is fork-tender.

Add the chard in batches, stirring well to wilt the leaves in the hot broth. Once all chard has been added and is submerged in broth, cook for two minutes longer, then add the mint and stir it in well. Turn off the burner, and use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or carefully transfer to a blender in batches and puree). Add lemon juice and salt, then return to a very low flame until serving. Just prior to serving, taste and adjust lemon juice/salt if needed.

Serve in bowls with a generous dollop of yogurt, and mint leaves/almonds if you choose to use them.