Monday, November 18, 2013

Roasted Cauliflower, Celery Root and Kale Soup

I feel like the first round of colds/flu has begun so soup and stock making will be on my regular rotation for meals now.  Getting a great soup and then adding protein is such a fantastic way to get all the macronutrients in one fell swoop.  Cauliflower and Celery Root are going gangbusters right now and it's never a bad idea to add kale to anything you are cooking up right now.  We added some shredded roast chicken to this soup this time, but literally any type of protein is a welcome addition to this soup or just have it on it's own as a starter to any meal.

Roasted Cauliflower, Celery Root and Kale Soup

1 large head organic cauliflower (got mine from Swanton) washed and separated into uniform pieces
1 medium organic celery root peeled and uniformly diced
Olive oil
Sea Salt
1 large organic Japanese yam peeled and uniformly diced
several organic kale leaves--I like the curly kale for this recipe
1 quart chicken stock* (or vegetable stock if going vegan on this)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Toss cauliflower and celery root with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (or more) to evenly coat all vegetables.  Spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast for 10 minutes then turn over the vegetables with a spatula and roast for an additional 10 minutes or until tender.  In the meantime bring the chicken stock to a simmer and add the sweet potato in the chicken stock until tender, about 20-30 min.  Wash and strip the kale leaves of their tough stems then cut into strips and small pieces.  When all the vegetables have been cooked, in batches, combine them with the stock in a blender or food processor and puree--adding to pot on the stove until finished.  If soup is too thick add water until you get to your desired consistency.  Add the kale to the puree in the pot and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

*If you are not making your own stock you can get stock from bones locally at Bel Campo Meat Co. in Larkspur consistently and at the Farmer's market stands sporadically at Marin Sun Farms, Prather Ranch or Tara Firma Farms.  When you see it, just buy it and store it in your freezer--it will last a couple of months.  At the supermarket, just be super diligent in your label reading if buying it off the shelf, there are lots of random things in most brands--sugar, dairy products, oils.  Pacific Brand has one that works, it's just a matter of finding it at you market...