Cauliflower | Kid Tested Firefighter Approved

I’ve been craving curry with cauliflower and chickpeas for a while now so I decided to try this since cauliflower is on sale at Sprouts this week. This was really good and pretty easy to make. My hubby ate two small bowls of it before I even started the quinoa and our 14 month old son ate a ton of it! He’s learning how to use a spoon and did quite well with this dish! I served this over quinoa but I bet brown rice would work too.I also doubled the recipe in order to have lots of leftovers.

Cauliflower Chickpea Curry

Yummy!

Ingredients:

1⁄2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1⁄2 head cauliflower (about 1 pound), cut into florets

2 tablespoons curry powder – I used Kashmiri Curry from World Spice

1 vine-ripened tomato, chopped OR 1 can diced tomatoes

1 1⁄2 cups chickpeas, cooked OR 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can full-fat coconut milk – (I used one can of regular and one can of lite)

1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped – a few extra for garnish

Cooked quinoa – I served this over quinoa and it was really good! You could use brown rice too.

Procedure

Water sauté the onion and cauliflower. Cook until the onions caramelize and the cauliflower is browned.
Add the curry powder and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes break down and soften, about 6 minutes.
Mix in the chickpeas, tomato paste, ginger and coconut milk. Stir everything together. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the cauliflower istender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Uncover and continue cooking until the excess moisture has evaporated and the cauliflower and chickpeas are coated with a thick gravy. Add ume vinegar/apple cider vinegar. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
Saute cauliflower and onions until onions are caramelized and cauliflower is brown

Add curry powder and tomatoes, cook until tomatoes break down and soften

Add coconut milk, tomato paste and chickpeas… stir, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes

Uncover and cook until most of the excess liquid cooks and a nice thick sauce is left

Add chopped cilantro, stir and cook a few more minutes

Serve over quinoa, garnish with cilantro!

I used to make cauliflower with olive oil, rosemary, 16 cloves of garlic (yes, 16!) and salt but since I’ve stopped using added oils and salt I’ve had to find new recipes. This soup turned out really good! It’s nice and creamy yet dairy-free, oil-free and very low salt (depending on what you decide to use for broth). The cashews are an excellent addition. Our toddler loved this soup!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

The original recipe is from Healthy Blender Recipes. I added lemon thyme, black pepper and cayenne sprinkled on top. I chose buckwheat for my grain since that’s what I had on hand for the day.

8 cups of strong vegetable broth – I used half low-sodium veggie broth/half water
Leftover bean cooking liquid for sautéing OR just use water if you’re trying to stay oil-free (Olive oil if you’re not) **NOTE: I save the leftover bean cooking liquid from my pressure cooker and use it in place of oil in recipes… works great and it’s much better for you! I use mostly chickpea 🙂
1 whole head of garlic roasted
The white part of 2-3 leeks washed and chopped
1 large head of cauliflower chopped
1/2 tsp dried lemon thyme (or regular thyme is fine)
1/2 cup raw cashews (you could also use raw blanched almonds) – soaked in hot water for around 20 minutes
4 Tbsp chives chopped finely to garnish
cayenne pepper to serve on top
white or black pepper, to taste
organic brown rice, quinoa or millet to serve – I served with buckwheat

Place the whole head of garlic unpeeled in an oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. (This makes the house smell REALLY GOOD!)
In a large saucepan fry the leek in a little bean cooking liquid until soft. (About 3 minutes)
Add in the cauliflower and stir for a couple of minutes until well coated. Squeeze in the roasted garlic pulp.
Cover with the vegetable broth/water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a medium flame, and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.
Let the mixture cool enough to put batches in the blender (I like to use a Vitamix), and puree with the cashews until smooth and creamy.
Transfer to a clean pot and heat on low to serve. Season with salt (if you wish) and white or black pepper, to taste.
To serve – top each bowl with a grain ball and a generous sprinkle of chives. Top with a little cayenne pepper.

This soup serves six people and makes really great leftovers!