Spinflower Soup — The Dirt on Vegetables

I have been craving a soup that seems creamy but doesn’t actually have any cream. Do you know what I mean? Like when you want to fit into your skinny jeans, but you don’t actually want to put in the effort of going outside, heading over to the gym, and then getting on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I was starting to think that my desire for a healthy soup that would taste unhealthy wasn’t going to be possible. My husband often tells me that I am a skinny girl on the outside with the thoughts of a very large (and in charge) person on the inside.

Whenever my refrigerator is filled with produce that will go bad in a few days, my mind goes to combining all of these extra ingredients and making a scrumptious soup. This dish is easy to make a delicious lunch or light dinner. You can replace the cauliflower with broccoli rabe if you want a super green soup. I added the superfood spinach at the end to wilt.

If you have an immersion blender, you are going to want to cook this soup in a nice, deep pot. Turn your heat way down, put your immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the pot, and stand back a little so you don't get splattered. Then, just start whizzing that up and you have your healthy, vegan, no-cream creamy soup all ready to roll! If you do not have an immersion blender, you can just blend this soup in batches. I used my Vitamix (a chef's best friend) and the soup came to a perfect texture. My husband likes to add some grated parmesan cheese on top, which is over-the-top delicious, but I keep mine vegan and I love it just the same.

Spinflower Soup

Author: Michele Wolfson Broder

Spinflower Soup Author: Michele Wolfson Serves: 4-6 servings Adapted mostly from Rachael Ray's http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/spinoccoli-soup/" target="_blank"]Spinoccoli Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter (omit the butter and use more olive oil if vegan)
2 leeks, whites, and light green tops, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small head cauliflower, trimmed and chopped
1 large sweet potato, small cubed
Salt and pepper
2 quarts vegetable stock
10 ounces spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 handful basil, thinly sliced

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a medium soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add butter and melt; when it foams, add leeks and garlic, and stir 2 minutes.
Add cauliflower, sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Raise heat to medium-high and cover to sweat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add stock and bring to boil. Wilt in the spinach, then throw in the shredded basil and then blend with an immersion blender or purée in batches in a Vitamix, blender, or food processor. You can add a cup of water if the soup is too thick. Adjust seasoning.