A creamy coconut and cauliflower soup from Soup for Good

Cauliflower is a real staple of our surplus food deliveries, and our community are always keen to hear new ways to use it. It felt like the ideal place to start when we were looking to expand our vegan repertoire. And here’s the result: a nourishing, silky smooth, and rich soup packed with flavour and warmth which has now become a firm favourite with vegans and non-vegans alike.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 750g cauliflower
• 100g butter or coconut oil
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 1 x 400g tin coconut milk
• 150g double cream or coconut cream
• Salt and pepper

Garnish

• 50g butter or coconut oil
• 125g cauliflower (florets only)
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp nigella seeds
• 50g flaked or desiccated coconut

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Remove all the outer leaves from the cauliflower (you don’t need the leaves for the soup, but they are delicious steamed or roasted with garlic and oil). Cut the florets and stalk into 3-4cm pieces.

Set a large saucepan or shallow casserole pan on a medium heat. Add 75g of butter, followed by the onion and garlic, and sauté for around eight minutes until soft but not coloured. Next, add the cauliflower pieces, vegetable stock and coconut milk. Stir and bring to the boil and then simmer until the cauliflower is tender, around 20 minutes.

Take the soup off the heat and add the remaining butter or coconut oil and the cream. Stir well and then blend until really smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

To make the garnish, chop the remaining cauliflower into small 1-2 cm pieces. Place 50g of butter into a frying pan on a high heat. When frothy, add the cauliflower pieces, cumin seeds, nigella seeds and coconut. Cook until golden brown and aromatic.

To serve, heat the soup until piping hot. Decant into bowls and sprinkle with the cauliflower, coconut and seeds and drizzle over any remaining butter from the pan.

Taken from Soup for Good – Recipes and Stories from the Cook for Good Community by Cook for Good (Cook For Good Community Interest Company, £25). Read the review here

Photography: Jason Boswell