It’s been raining a lot here in the San Francisco Bay Area! Reservoirs are overflowing, flash floods are occurring and mud slides are forcing people out of their homes. I’m over here building an arc if anyone wants to hop in! A lot of us could use a big bowl of comforting soup and I know there are many of you with even harsher weather so I’m sure you’re in the same boat (pun intended). Needless to say, this easy creamy potato and cauliflower soup was a big hit in our house! Especially with the arugula pesto. The recipe makes extra pesto so you can put it on grilled veggies, in eggs, on pasta, fish, chicken. It became my world and I can’t wait for it to become yours! Forreal forrealz.
Something new I am trying with my seasonal recipe posts is to list where to find ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients as well as a little chart outlining what exactly makes this recipe “ethical”. I’m hoping to shine light on my thinking behind the whole process so that you can start creating your own sustainable recipes too! It’s really easy if you just think about where you are getting your ingredients from, how far they traveled and who is benefiting most from your purchase. Here is my checklist:
One little note about the creamy potato and cauliflower soup, if you let the potatoes cook on high heat too long they go through starch gelatinization, meaning they get kind of gooey and thick. I’m sure you’ve had mashed potatoes like this before, honestly it’s not an undesirable consistency, but I learned from my mom and a google search that it’s not great for our health. According to Wikipedia, “Starch gelatinization is a process of breaking down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of water and heat, allowing the hydrogen bonding sites (the hydroxyl hydrogen and oxygen) to engage more water. This irreversibly dissolves the starch granule in water.” The starch becomes more available for absorption and causes blood sugar levels to rise. In order to control blood sugar levels our body releases insulin and insulin levels spike up. High levels of insulin cause weight gain and can lead to diabetes in the long run… so not the best health choice. I’m not telling you this to scare you away from eating potatoes ever again. I’m just telling you so that you don’t overcook those potatoes at a high heat. And if they do gelantinize it most likely won’t be a life or death situation, but I’m no doctor so better safe than sorry!
Other than taking care not to cook it on high heat, this creamy potato and cauliflower soup is super easy to whip together. All it is is cauliflower, potatoes, stock, shallots, garlic, sage and red wine. That’s seven common ingredients my friends! Not bad if I say so myself! It would also be great with mushrooms. Like mushrooms, red wine and shallots? Heaven in my mouth. And then the arugula pesto is so easy to whip up and can be dolloped on everything for the next week… er realistically next day. It’s way too good to last a whole week. Ask my mom, she became an arugula pesto dolloping queen; just adding a bit of bright colored goodness to everyone’s plates. A true Green Goddess.
So now the details on where to source stuff…
- Produce: The produce in this recipe was easy for me to find at the local farmer’s market! Did you know that the average person’s produce travels over 1,000 miles to get to them! Sometimes it can be over 2,000 miles! So insane compared to buying food from the local farmers’ market or growing it yourself. This fun, informative infographic juxtaposes the distance produce travels to a conventional market versus a local market by calculating how many of a specific fruit or vegetable would have to be laid out end to end to cover the distance from farm to consumer.
- Olive Oil: Did you know that olive oil loses a lot of it’s health benefits 6 months after being pressed? Most olive oil that we find at supermarkets is at least two years old and can be cut with other vegetable oils. Look for a local vendor of olive oil that is producing it as sustainably as possible. I know where I live in California there is a big problem with olive fruit flies so it can be really difficult to find organic, pesticide free olive oil. I don’t know if olive oil can be produced sustainably using mostly conventional farming techniques, but I would just talk to your local producer and ask. If you buy directly from the olive grower you are cutting out the middle man so not only is the farmer getting paid more, but there is more transparency for quality control.
- Parmesan: Look for raw, grass fed if you can. The longer Parmesan has been aged the higher amount of vitamin K2 it will have; a nutrient that many people are in short supply of. It will also be lower in lactose. So don’t skimp out on your Parm and do a little research. Once you find a brand that meets all your needs you won’t have to keep looking. Eat Wild is a great resource for finding local farms and cheese makers in your area (among other specialty vendors).
- Bone Broth (Skip if using vegetable stock): Make sure you are getting your bones to make bone broth, or your pre-made bone broth from a pasture raised animal. Animals raised for food should be able to behave naturally and live how they would live if they were wild. The best way to do this is to go to your farmers’ market and know exactly who is raising the animals. Chicken feet make an excellent bone broth. It’s a great use of a part of the chicken that may otherwise be wasted. If I am going to kill an animal or plant for my own gain I think that they should be treated like a God. Loved, respected, thanked and not wasted.
- Pine nuts: Pine nuts are actually the seeds of a pine cone! Maybe you already knew this, but I never put two and two together until today. Anyway, pine nuts are native to most of America so look for pine nuts grown in your region or as close to you as possible to reduce the distance your food had to travel to get to you.
*Note: It is really easy to make the creamy potato and cauliflower soup vegan. Just use vegetable stock instead of bone broth and in the pesto either replace the Parmesan with vegan parm (you can find it at the grocery store) OR add an extra 1/4 cup of pine nuts, a 1/4 tsp more salt and a tbsp of nutritional yeast.
Yields 4
Stay warm during the rainy season with this creamy potato cauliflower soup. The pesto really lightens up the dish, while adding extra vegetables. My family loved this recipe!
10 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- Avocado oil for frying
- 1 heaping Tbsp sage minced
- 6 red potatoes chopped
- 1 medium purple cauliflower coursely chopped
- 1 qt vegetable stock
- 1 large shallot diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- Cooking red wine
- 1 Tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
- Plain yogurt (optional)
- 4 cups arugula (or arugula spinach blend for less spice)
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot on medium heat.
- Saute shallot and garlic in avocado oil until the shallot is translucent.
- Add potatoes and cauliflower and saute until just golden.
- Meanwhile in a small pan fry up sage until crisp, but not burnt.
- Deglaze the stock pot with a splash of red wine.
- Add the sage, salt, and vegetable stock.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce soup to a simmer.
- Cook until the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through.
- Using an immersion blender puree the soup. Or carefully transfer soup a few cups at a time to a standing blender to puree.
- For the pesto add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If you need extra liquid slowly drizzle in more olive oil a bit at a time while the food processor is going.
- Serve the soup immediately and garnish with pesto and a dollop of yogurt (optional).
Notes
This recipe yields extra pesto. Use it in eggs, on grilled vegetables, fish, chicken, pasta... the combinations are endless!
Creamy Potato and Cauliflower Soup:
Arugula Pesto:
Don’t forget, if you found this recipe for creamy potato and cauliflower soup enjoyable be sure to share it with others! It’s only fair to share.
