Winter hit us like a ton of bricks this year. Seriously: one weekend it was 70 degrees, and ten days later temperatures were below freezing overnight. It’s been a bit of a rough adjustment to this seasonal change, but luckily we found this soup recipe from the New York Times that we decided to try out and adapt for ourselves. It uses a bunch of different veggies to make for a meal with some really interesting flavors, and it’s also a little spicy, depending on how hot you want your soup to be. Plus it just so happens to be vegan – you get a creamy, thick soup not from adding in dairy but just from pureeing everything together. If all that sounds pretty appealing right now, we’ll show you how to cook this up!
You’ll need:
- 2 16-ounce packages of frozen cauliflower florets
- Coriander
- Olive oil
- A bunch of thyme
- 1 1/2 pounds of plum tomatoes
- Harissa paste
- 3 bunches of scallions
- A jalapeño
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Tomato paste
- A pack of Massel 7’s chicken-style bouillon cubes
- Cilantro
- A lemon
To start, defrost all your cauliflower in the microwave, then mix the florets with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of coriander, and some salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop the cauliflower onto the sheets in an even layer with no overlapping, and scatter a small handful of thyme sprigs over everything.
Next, cut all your tomatoes in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Mix the tomato halves with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of harissa, plus some salt. Place parchment paper on a second baking sheet and spread the tomatoes out on the sheet with the cut side up, then scatter another small handful of thyme sprigs on top.
Roast both sheets in your oven at 425°F for 20 minutes. Then take the cauliflower out, stir it around on the sheet, and roast for another 15 minutes. For the tomatoes, flip them over and carefully peel their skins off, then dollop a little more harissa on the rounded side of each tomato. Roast like this, with their cut sides down, for another 15 minutes.
While you’re waiting for the cauliflower and tomatoes to finish, bring 7 cups of water to a boil and dissolve in 7 bouillon cubes to make a stock. Also thinly slice all your scallions, chop 5 garlic cloves, and chop up the jalapeño. Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat, then add in the jalapeño and all but a large handful of the scallions and cook for about 5 minutes, until these veggies are softened. Add in the garlic and cook for just a minute, then stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin, a tablespoon of tomato paste, a large pinch of salt, and some pepper and cook everything for a few more minutes, until the tomato paste darkens.
Add in the cauliflower (not the thyme – you won’t need it anymore) when it comes out of the oven, along with the stock you made. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower becomes tender. Take the pot off the heat, and once it’s cool use an immersion blender to make an even soup.
Then take your tomatoes and place them in a mixing bowl, but pluck out the thyme and discard. Chop about a cup of cilantro leaves and add them in, along with 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, most of the rest of your scallions, and some salt. Zest your lemon into the bowl and squeeze in the juice from one half, then stir everything together. If the tomatoes are still very chunky and in large pieces, you can use a fork to break them up.
Now dish up individual bowls of soup and top with tomatoes. You can also garnish with a few leftover scallion slices, some extra cilantro leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.
This soup wasn’t an easy throw-everything-into-a-bowl-and-simmer meal, for sure, but the work we put into it is reflected in all the different tastes that come together here. You’ve got cauliflower cooked with scallions, garlic, jalapeño and two spices, then made thick and creamy just by blending it all together. On top you’ve got spicy tomatoes mixed with herbs and coriander, plus more herbs rounding out the whole thing. The soup and the spiciness really warmed us up on a cold day, and it was quite a filling vegan meal. Don’t be scared of this soup if you’re wary about spicy foods – you can adjust how much harissa you use according to your preferences. Just try it out as one way to stay warm and nourished this season.