Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup

I'm a little late for meat free monday, but this recipe serves as your meat free any day recipe just as well.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed some baking or cooking - or both! I definitely enjoyed my piece(s) of cake. The apple pie I already told you about and - as I couldn't decide on one cake - I devoured pieces of something else. I promise I will tell you about that second cake soon enough. But today's post is about Donna Hay's new latest book "The new easy". I bought it a while ago, but only got around to try some of the recipes this week. The soup I would like to introduce you to today is a great fall or winter soup. It is creamy, rich, comforting, warming, using fall produce and healthy at the same time! 
As always, omit the garlic if you want to or use less. This soup is easily made vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the yoghurt. 

Here's the recipe:

1kg (35 oz) (1 large head) cauliflower 
1 400g (14 oz) can chickpeas
4 garlic cloves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of 1 medium organic lemon)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
sea salt 
black pepper
1 potato
1.5l (6 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sumach
natural yoghurt, to serve

1) Preheat your oven to 200°C (395°F). Cut the cauliflower into florets. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Grate the zest from the lemon. Peel the garlic cloves.

2) Place the cauliflower florets, chickpeas, lemon zest, thyme and garlic cloves on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Season with salt, pepper and cumin, drizzle with the oil and toss to combine. Place the tray in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

3) In the meantime, cut the potato into small cubes, place in a large saucepan with the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 8 minutes, until the potato is soft. 

4) Add 2/3 to all of the cauliflower mix and cook for 1-2 minutes. Blend with a handheld blender until smooth. 

5) Serve the soup in bowls, add the cauliflower-chickpea-mix and a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle with sumach. 

Yield: 2.5 litres soup (serves roughly 8)
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total prepration time: 50 minutes

Here's how mine looks:

I wanted a smooth soup for a change so I blended all of the cauliflower mix with the broth. I also ran out of potatoes, so I omitted them. And, of course, the garlic. My soup turned out rather thick, but feel free to add water until you reach your desired thickness.

What I love is the depth of flavor the roasting lends the cauliflower. This soup has a rich and earthy flavor that is balanced by a very light brightness from the lemon zest. It might not look so pretty because the color is less attention-catching than the bright red of a tomato. 
But this soup is the perfect warming treat on a grey and rainy, cold fall day. The chickpeas add protein to help keep you full and make the soup creamy without any added cream.

What I love is that the recipe works and is little work. A small trick like roasting the produce before blending it into soup adds a ton of flavor. 

Have fun trying and keep warm on these chilly fall days!