REC: Cauliflower and Spinach Soup

Another recipe of my devising. I like simple cooking with a small
number of ingredients and I love the taste of vegetables - I think
these things are reflected in the following recipe. The soup also has
a gorgeous dark green color - it's much prettier than a broccoli soup
I made with essentially the same recipe.


carla's Cauliflower and Spinach Soup
------------------------------------

3 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 packages fresh spinach (16-20 oz. total)
2 heads cauliflower, coarsely chopped
4-5 cups vegetable broth, or 4-5 cups water and two vegetarian
bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste


In a large soup pot, heat the oil and the garlic. Add the onions and
saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the
garlic does not burn. Add the spinach (you might have to add it in
two batches) and and some salt and pepper and saute until the spinach
is wilted and reduced in volume. Add the cauliflower and the
vegetable broth. Cover, turn heat down a bit, and simmer until the
cauliflower is very soft, 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasoning, and puree
with a hand blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.

Nutrition Data (computed using Fitday):
For the whole pot of soup, approx: 1000 kCal, 46.4 g fat (6.4 g sat),
125 g carbs (53 g fiber), 53 g protein
If you divide the pot into eight portions (these are fairly generous
portions): 125 kCal, 5.8 g fat (0.8 g sat), 15.6 g carbs (6.6 g
fiber), 6.6 g protein


Comments:
* I use vegetarian bouillon because I want the soup to be pareve
(neither meat nor dairy), but chicken broth might work as well, though
I'd worry about the flavor being too strong. If you try it, let me
know how it works. Another variation I haven't tried, for the same
reason, is to add a touch of cream to finish the soup. I think it's
pretty creamy as it is.
* If you want to reduce the carbs, a smaller portion could still be
pretty satisfying - the pot could easily make 10 portions. The same
strategy would reduce the calories. Also, using less olive oil would
cut the calories. I used three tablespoons, but I think as few as two
would have been fine.

If you try it, let me know what you think, and let me know your own
variations.

carla
237/222/165?

carla wrote:
::
:: carla's Cauliflower and Spinach Soup
:: ------------------------------------
::

Thanks, Carla!

carla's Cauliflower and Spinach Soup
3 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 packages fresh spinach (16-20 oz. total)
2 heads cauliflower, coarsely chopped
4-5 cups vegetable broth, or 4-5 cups water and two vegetarian
bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat the oil and the garlic. Add the onions and
saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the
garlic does not burn. Add the spinach (you might have to add it in
two batches) and and some salt and pepper and saute until the spinach
is wilted and reduced in volume. Add the cauliflower and the
vegetable broth. Cover, turn heat down a bit, and simmer until the
cauliflower is very soft, 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasoning, and puree
with a hand blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.
Nutrition Data (computed using Fitday):
For the whole pot of soup, approx: 1000 kCal, 46.4 g fat (6.4 g sat),
125 g carbs (53 g fiber), 53 g protein
If you divide the pot into eight portions (these are fairly generous
portions): 125 kCal, 5.8 g fat (0.8 g sat), 15.6 g carbs (6.6 g
fiber), 6.6 g protein

Muchos gracias, Carla. I made somthing similar to this a
while back, but I put chicken breast in it.

Marsha/Ohio

Marsha wrote in message ...
Muchos gracias, Carla. I made somthing similar to this a
while back, but I put chicken breast in it.

That sounds interesting - did the chicken get pureed as well or were
there chicken pieces in the puree? (Or did you skip the puree step
and have chicken and vegetables in broth?)

I adore chicken soup - it's among my favorite comfort food - but I
haven't made it since starting low-carb because I can't bear to think
about it without rice or egg noodles.

carla
237/222/165?

carla wrote:

I adore chicken soup - it's among my favorite comfort food - but I
haven't made it since starting low-carb because I can't bear to think
about it without rice or egg noodles.

carla
237/222/165?


Throw some barley in there. It has an extremely low glycemic index and
it's wonderful in soup.

Rebecca

That sounds interesting - did the chicken get pureed as well or were
there chicken pieces in the puree? (Or did you skip the puree step
and have chicken and vegetables in broth?)

I adore chicken soup - it's among my favorite comfort food - but I
haven't made it since starting low-carb because I can't bear to think
about it without rice or egg noodles.

carla
237/222/165?

I skipped the puree part. How about using low-carb pasta?

Marsha/Ohio

On 31 Dec 2003 04:46:29 -0800, (carla) wrote:

I adore chicken soup - it's among my favorite comfort food - but I
haven't made it since starting low-carb because I can't bear to think
about it without rice or egg noodles.

Could you just beat an egg and add it to the chicken soup at the very end
of the cooking process, slowly pouring it in a very thin stream, to create
egg noodles? Sorta like egg-drop soup?

Another thing I've added to soup to sub for rice or noodles: a handful of
TVP granules. They absorb a lot of liquid and sort of resemble soggy rice
or barley in soup.

Em

http://www.annecollins.com/dietary-c...bs-noodles.htm



Rebecca wrote:
carla wrote:

I adore chicken soup - it's among my favorite comfort food - but I
haven't made it since starting low-carb because I can't bear to think
about it without rice or egg noodles.

carla
237/222/165?


Throw some barley in there. It has an extremely low glycemic index
and it's wonderful in soup.

Rebecca