Potato Cauliflower Soup

This delicious soup recipe is from The New McDougall Cookbook. In its original form, the recipe actually calls for double the ingredients listed here. Since I only usually cook for hubby and myself, I make the smaller quantity which requires half of a cauliflower. That leaves me with the other half to use in other dishes.

I am a fan of pureed soups and this one looks at lot like the soups I've already posted on this blog, except for the colour.

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 medium head cauliflower, chopped
2 1/2 cups peeled and chopped potatoes
4 cups water
1 tsp dried dill
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp soy sauce
fresh ground pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Place the onion, cauliflower and potatoes in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the dill, cover and cook over medium heat until the potato and cauliflower are tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Return to the soup pot. Add the bay leaf, soy sauce and pepper. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to blend. Remove the bay leaf and garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.

Cauliflower Dal

This recipe is from the January 2008 McDougall Newsletter.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4-6

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup dried red lentils
15 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 large russet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped

Place the onion, garlic and jalapeno in a large pot with 1-2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth. Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes until onion softens slightly. Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir for about 1 minute. Add the remaining broth and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve in a bowl with some pita bread on the side or over brown rice.

Note: Sometimes I use canned diced tomatoes and sometimes crushed tomatoes. Instead of a jalapeno pepper, I used two rings of the pickled jalapeno peppers that you can buy in a jar.

I add salt to taste once the food is on my plate.

I've only recently discovered this wonderful dish. It's tasty and cheap to make. What more could you want?