Potato & Leek Soup with Roasted Cauliflower & Oh No

I’m back!  It took a few months but hopefully I’ll start posting regularly again.  I made this for a winter potluck.  Since it was a potluck I wanted to make sure that the food was vegan & gluten free.  I decided to make a classic potato & leek soup and add roasted cauliflower to give it some depth in flavor and texture.

Music: Oh No - Dr. No’s Ethiopium What I love most about this album is Oh No’s ability to play with the rhythm.  He takes samples from Ethiopian music from the 60s and 70s and crafts these great songs and just keeps bending the beat so perfectly.  You can really hear that it in the track below.

Ingredients: Serves 6

1.25 Pounds of Potatoes or about 5 medium sized Russet (red potatoes are good too), peeled and cubed

3 Leeks, sliced thinly

1 Shallot, diced

1 Head of Cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Liter of Vegetable Broth

1/4 Cup of Olive Oil

1/4 Teaspoon of Chili Powder

1/4 Teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes

1 Teaspoon of Parsley

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a baking sheet with some olive oil and add the cauliflower to the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in oven and bake until the florets are golden brown and the cauliflower is just tender when poked with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a soup pot heat oil on medium heat and add garlic and leek.  Saute for 5 minutes and then add all the spices accept the parsley.

Add vegetable broth and potatoes to the soup pot and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Blend soup mixture in a blender to puree.  Make sure to only fill blender half way when pureeing or disaster could strike.

Once soup is pureed, combine the puree with the roasted cauliflower in a soup pot and serve immediately.