Curry Cauliflower and Leek Comfort Soup

What to do when you have an abundance of cauliflower and leeks?  Add bacon and curry and make a yummy, nutritious soup of course.   Bacon is great with everything so I thought..."why not in a cauliflower soup?"  If you like baked potato chowder soups then I think you will really like this cauliflower based soup, the cauliflower lends a texture that is similar to that of a cooked potato and the bacon, well bacon makes everything amazing...just add leeks and a touch of curry and this soup will keep you full and satisfied.



Cauliflower is my second favorite cruciferous vegetable, after broccoli of course :) I love love broccoli.  Packed with vitamin C and B complex vitamins, this vegetable is a powerhouse for immunity boosting and infection prevention.  Cauliflower also contains phyto-chemicals which help the body by inhibiting cancer cell growth.  Leeks are a wonderful source of vitamin A as well as folic acid.  So bottom line try to incorporate these into your diet at some point, they are human food after all.

I am experimenting more with cauliflower these days, I steam it of course when time or creativity is limited, I make it into rice as well as into pizza crust.  I have yet to make a pizza crust that I am satisfied with enough to post on here, that one is still in the "test" kitchen.  If you have any tips or tricks for this please let me know I am all ears!  I had been wanting to make a soup out of it for some time now and I thought leeks would pair well with this, and of course bacon...can't forget that bacon.  I was quite pleased with the results and am so excited to share it with you all.  I hope you love it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large leek (rinsed well...these puppies hide dirt in the leaves well...white portion chopped bite-sized chunks)
• 4-6 slices of bacon chopped into bite-sized pieces (reserve a small portion for garnish)
• 1 large head of cauliflower 
• 32 oz vegetable stock
• 1/2 can-1 can (depending on thickness desired) unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tbsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)*
• dash of black pepper
• crisped bits of bacon and chopped green portion of leeks for garnish

Method:

Melt the coconut oil in a large pot, when warm add the chopped leeks and chopped bacon (making sure to reserve a bit for garnish).  Saute until leeks are softened, and bacon is semi soft (it won't really crisp up like normal, that is OK).  While sauteing leeks and bacon, chop the cauliflower into chunks and add to the pot when ready.  Mix around a bit to coat the cauliflower in the oil and bacon fat.  Cover with vegetable stock if this is not enough to cover all of the cauliflower just add a bit of water.  Boil and then reduce heat to simmer until the cauliflower is tender.  While this is cooking you can crisp up your little bits of bacon in a small non-stick pan, then drain when finished on paper towels and set aside. When cauliflower is tender you can add in the coconut milk, I suggest only adding half the can initially and then after blending add more if desired.  Using an immersion blender (regular blender could also be used) puree into a desired consistency.  I like mine with a bit more chunks so I didn't blend entirely.  Add in the curry powder, salt and pepper and taste on occasion to make sure the spice is to your liking.  Garnish with bacon bits and chopped leeks.  Enjoy and please let me know how it was or any suggestions you might make!

*When adding salt to recipes remember to go light and taste along the way, you can always add more salt, but can never take it out.