Dishing Up the Dirt

Roasted Cauliflower & Kale Soup

The weather has quickly turned from warm and sunny to grey and stormy in our neck of the woods. This means soup is on the menu this week and we could not be more thrilled. Taylor and I don’t mind the change in the forecast since we desperately need the moisture. Besides, there’s something comforting about listening to the rain fall onto the greenhouse roof while we’re cozy inside seeding and transplanting.

This lovely soup satisfied our comfort food craving while still giving a nod to spring produce. Our kale and cauliflower aren’t ready for harvest yet but thankfully we got our hands on some good quality ingredients from the valley.

This is a simple and flavorful soup that is easy to prepare and filling to boot. The kale adds a beautiful color while the cauliflower lends a creamy texture. We topped our soup with crispy kale chips and pine nuts for some crunch. As a bonus I whipped up some za’atar spiced chickpea flatbread (also known as socca) and a simple arugula salad. It was a comforting yet light springtime meal that we shared with good friends and a nice bottle of white wine. Date nights in with neighbors are the absolute best and we’re lucky to have some rad friends who enjoy staying home, eating soup, and drinking wine as much as we do.

I hope you all enjoy this simple dinner too. If you want to make the chickpea flatbread follow this link and add a few tablespoons of za’atar to the batter.  This meal tastes best when enjoyed with good friends and a bottle of tasty wine. Cheers.

Roasted Cauliflower & Kale Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 50 minutes    Serves: 4

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 large bunch of curly kale, tough stems removed and torn into bite size pieces
  • 5 1/2 cups of vegetable stock + additional to thin if necessary
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • squeeze of fresh lemon juice for serving

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. Toss the cauliflower, garlic, onion, thyme and cayenne with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until lightly browned and tender. About 20-25 minutes. If the garlic begins to brown too quickly removed it from the pan sooner. Toss veggies halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350F.
  3. In a bowl toss half of the kale with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until lightly browned and crisp. About 18-20 minutes. Check the kale often to make sure it doesn't burn.
  4. In a large dutch oven add the roasted vegetables with the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about ten minutes. Stir in the remaining kale, increase the heat to medium and cook, uncovered for ten more minutes.
  5. Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender, or, working in batches, puree the soup in a high speed blender. Season with salt and pepper and add additional stock if the soup is too thick.
  6. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the baked kale, toasted pine nuts, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and additional salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Serve with chickpea flatbread and a simple salad for a complete meal.

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. *Cooking times will vary from kitchen to kitchen. *Taste test as you go. *Have fun in the kitchen.


Leave a Reply

25 thoughts on “Roasted Cauliflower & Kale Soup

  1. Emma says:

    This looks fantastic Andrea! It’s feeling more spring-like here but is still pretty chilly – definitely soup weather!
    Love your serving suggestion here with the crispy kale, pine nuts and flatbread. Perfect.

  2. dana says:

    GORGEOUS. Making!!

  3. Such a wonderful recipe! And your pictures are beautiful too 🙂
    Can’t wait to make this soup!

  4. Laura says:

    Oh my golly. I want to make this right now. I love the vibrant green colour and when it is so packed with kale, how could you go wrong? Looks awesome:)

  5. Andrea, love this soup on so many levels! Kale, cauliflower and garlic! That’s a winning combination for sure. Glad I stopped in to see you today. Take care.

  6. Elizabeth says:

    Such a pretty soup!

  7. Neighbour-soup-wine-date nights sound amazing! This soup looks perfect for our transition from summer to autumn as well. The weather is hot and stormy over here and I am loving soup for these rainy nights. Can’t wait to try this one.

  8. Brittany says:

    This is really tasty and easy to make! I substituted water for the oil and it tasted wonderful! I also added to stalks of celery.
    Thank you!

    1. Brittany says:

      *two, not to. Darn auto correct.:)

      1. Andrea says:

        I hate auto correct! Thanks for the lovely comment. I’m happy you loved this too!

  9. Carolyn says:

    Another Favorite Andrea. Next to the Beet and Tahini. I now have one of your soups in the morning after I work a night shift. It is filling, fun and fast to heat up. Sometimes I freeze them but sometime I plow through a batch in 4 days.. Plus I finally got to make Kale chips ( I know a little late to the game)

  10. Dawn says:

    This recipe is amazing! Super healthy, nutritious and a simple dinner to warm up a chilly winter’s night in Sydney. I added a chilli from the garden as I love my spice and to serve a little grated Parmesan (as we’d eaten all the kale crisps while the soup was cooking!)

  11. Kelly says:

    This is delicious!!! I skipped the kale chips part because…. I was lazy. And my kale was pretty wilted. I think I overdid it on the pepper, so add cautiously!

    thanks for the recipe 🙂

    1. Andrea says:

      Woohoo! I’m so happy you loved this soup as much as we did. I’ve made this multiple times since I first posted this and when I’m feeling lazy I skip the kale chips too. They’re great but the soup is just as tasty without them. Happy cooking!

  12. Amy says:

    Has anyone tried to substitute out the kale? Do you think spinach would make it bad?

    1. Chrystal says:

      I made this tonight and I honestly think I would like it better with spinach. The kale made this very grassy and neither my husband or I were fans.

      1. Andrea says:

        I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out for you. This is one of our go-to soups. You may have been using old kale? I’m assuming so because the soup shouldn’t taste grassy. If you’re not a fan of the flavor of kale spinach would be a lovely substitution. Happy cooking!

  13. Shannon says:

    Does anyone know the calorie count/nutritional info on 1 serving? Please and thanks if you calculated it :)!

  14. Nikki says:

    I just made this and it’s so good. I used a mix of baby kale, baby spinach & baby chard. I’ll definitely make this over and over again!

    1. Andrea says:

      so happy you loved it!

  15. curly says:

    I substituted fennel for celery and added spinach. Very good and easy on the eyes.

  16. Kristina says:

    Lovely soup! One question, how did you get such bright and beautiful color? Mine came out as a darker greenish color. More like a broccoli soup! Otherwise, delicious!

  17. Amy says:

    I have to say, I’ve made this many times and doubled the kale, added spinach, blended vs wand blended…and there is no way to get It THIS type of yellow green. Pulled me in though with that photo. 😉

  18. Elaine says:

    Made the soup a couple of times. It is good. I like to find ways to eat kale. I just threw it all in the pot to save time rather than baking 1/2 of it, and it works for me. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Andrea says:

      so happy to hear!

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