Healthy RV Eating: Curried Cauliflower Bisque

A warm comforting soup is one of my favorite RV meals when the temperature turns cold outside. I like to make them pre-trip, and then stick them in the RV freezer for an easy heat-and-eat dinner when we're on the road. Even better, it saves me from the death-defying feat of trying to cook in our tiny RV.

This cauliflower bisque recipe is one of those thick, hearty soups with a creamy goodness, yet still packed with healthful ingredients. You'll get a little heat from the curry, but this is in no way a spicy soup, so don't shy away from it! I just love this recipe. It is super easy to prepare, yields a lot so there'll be plenty of extra to freeze, plus it warms you through and through.

On a health note, most curry powders you'll find will contain turmeric. Research shows even a small amount of curcumin--a compound found in turmeric--can benefit the brain. Some scientists believe it may be one of the reasons India has much lower levels of dementia. Not all curry pastes contain turmeric, though, and the one I used in today's batch of this bisque...a red curry paste by Thai Kitchen...does not. So, when you hit the grocery store hunting for a paste, see if you can find one with turmeric (usually the yellow pastes have it, and could easily be substituted in this recipe). Click here for a yummy paste with turmeric from Amazon!

Ingredients:

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 TBS melted coconut oil or olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

Sea salt to taste

7 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 Russet potato (medium-large), chopped and peeled

3 TBS red curry paste

1 14-oz can full fat coconut milk

1 tsp curry powder

Optional garnishes:

Homemade croutons using whole grain baguette

Roasted cashews

Fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the cauliflower and sweet onion with the oil and garlic. Spread on a lightly greased baking sheet, and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast until the veggies start turning a nice golden brown color on their edges...somewhere between 25-35 minutes (keep an eye on them!), and stirring once during the cooking cycle.

Once that's in the oven, add the broth and potatoes to a large stock pot. Cook over medium-high heat. Once it boils, add curry paste, and then turn off the burner until the veggies are done roasting.

Once the veggies are done roasting, add them to the stock pot and increase the heat to high. Boil mixture for about 5 minutes. Turn off the burner and stir in coconut milk and curry powder.

Puree ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. Be very careful! For safety, puree hot ingredients in small batches, and start on the lowest setting.

And there you have it! At this point, I like to taste the finished product, and determine if I need a little more spices or curry paste, adding accordingly. Plus, you'll want to check the consistency. It can come out a little thick. If it does, simply add water to thin it to desired consistency.

Since it's just the two of us and this yields 11 cups of the finished product, I usually heat up two servings of the bisque to eat immediately, and then I separate the rest of it into 3 freezer containers for the next RV trip, or the next time I need a quick meal. That's another appealing aspect of this recipe. Prep once, and get 4 meals out of it.

It's extra delicious garnished with cashews and cilantro, but those are totally optional. Serve it with a chunk of crusty whole grain baguette and a lime wedge for squeezing over the soup, and just try to tell me it doesn't bring on the warm, cozy feelings of everything we love about winter.

Bon appetit,

Stef

(Post originally seen on TheFitRV.com)