Golden cauliflower and creamy cashew nut soup from Janet

This is the time of the year when vegetables are sparse in the garden, but cauliflower and sprouting broccoli are abundant and welcome after the winter.

The beauty of a cauliflower nestled so perfectly inside its wrapping of leaves protected from the frosts makes me take care of this tender vegetable and I like to unfurl its leaves and enjoy its creamy white colour and tight-knit florets.

Like the colour of new born lambs, cauliflower brings that lightness and hope that brings us out of our wintery days into a more outwardly active time.

This is a perfect soup to welcome in the Spring days, warming and comforting, light and beautiful in its colour. Golden from the turmeric that will keep us healthy in the transition of seasons and in tune with all the yellow that is abundant around us in Spring time giving us hope and well-being.

I always feel well after eating this soup and find it completely satisfying for a lighter nourishing lunch.

Ingredients for 4

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 cauliflower broken into florets

1 dessert spoon turmeric or a small piece of fresh turmeric root chopped

A handful of cashew nuts or ground almonds if you prefer

Vegetable stock

Herbs

Making this delicious soup

Chop the onion and gently cook it with olive oil so it becomes sweet and begins to caramelise.

Add the chopped garlic and continue cooking together then add the cashew nuts and stir them into the mix and keep cooking on a gentle heat.

Add the turmeric and stir for a few minutes before adding in the cauliflower florets. Let the cauliflower become infused with all the spice mix and then add the vegetable stock, preferably your own as it will have a cleaner taste. Bring to a boil then simmer till the cauliflower is tender.

Blend the soup till creamy and add seasoning to taste. Serve with some freshly chopped herbs like coriander or parsley and a sprinkle of dandelion petals.

I also love to serve this with a sprinkle of tamari roasted seeds, or some porcini mushrooms that have been soaked then fried with a little garlic and parsley. They taste delicious in the creaminess of the soup!