• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Food Fidelity

Food Blog featuring easy dinner recipes that make weeknights feel like Sunday dinners without the time

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • 5 Ingredients or Less
    • Quick and Easy
    • African Diaspora Influenced
    • By Special Diets
      • Vegan
      • Plant Based
      • Vegetarian
      • Keto Diet
      • Paleo
      • Gluten-Free
      • Dairy-Free
    • By Meal Course
      • Salad
      • Side Dishes
      • Main Entrees
      • Dessert
  • Work With Me
  • Food Politics As Usual
  • Cookie Policy

February 23, 2018 Dairy-Free

“crazy u” purple cauliflower & potato soup

Tweet
Share52
Pin14
Share
+1
66 Shares
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Purple Soup Recipe

This month I’ve been exploring the color purple as the foundation in a few recipes. This purple soup made with purple cauliflower & purple potatoes is the latest purple recipe following purple kale chips, roasted purple brussels sprouts, and brussels sprouts quesadillas.

purple soup with purple cauliflower & purple potatoes in black bowl topped with spices

I get inspiration for recipes from many sources, starting obviously with music if you follow this blog, but sometimes from everyday people that I encounter. This one began during a visit to my local farmers’ market. One of the merchants introduced me to the most beautiful purple daikon, oblong in shape, bi-colored with a deep purple top and creamy white near the bottom. I went straight purple beast mode and bought everything purple they had and then supplemented with other purple ingredients I found later.

Foodwise I can get pretty maniacal when it comes to the senses and developing recipes. Color, aroma, texture all become things I’m stressed and excited by, as well as incredibly dialed into in an effort to get that perfect combination. The minutia and details take on elevated meaning that contributes more often than not too great food. I must have made some version of a purple soup at least 5 times in one week before settling on this Purple Cauliflower and Potato Soup. I started with beets, purple cauliflower, purple daikon, purple potatoes, balsamic vinegar, dark purple grapes, and red onions as varying base ingredients, but never got the right flavor, color or texture profiles I wanted. After trial and error, I was able to narrow down the ingredient list as well as dial in the right sequence and quantities to balance the flavor. I settled on potatoes, cauliflower, daikon, and red onions.

purple cauliflower on a table

Flavor Profile of Purple Cauliflower & Potato Soup

Purple potatoes and cauliflower are both moderate in flavor, just north of bland, but they’re also very malleable. Daikon, depending on which part you use can be spicy to mild in flavor. The top part is usually the mildest and well suited to eating raw. The middle tends to be sweeter and for my money is the best part of the daikon given has a mix of both spicy and sweet flavors. The tip is the spiciest part. I wanted a hint of the spiciness with some of that sweetness so I only used the middle relying on cooking to bring out more sweetness. I actually sauted both the onions and daikon first to bring some of the caramelization to the dish. Lastly, I needed to somehow bring the dish together, something that helped to marry all the flavors.

The spices and dried thyme help do just that. The smokiness and earthiness of the paprika as well as the herbal flavor of the thyme act as flavor connectors. The finishing step which I owe to fellow blogger Food. Love. Tog. I came across her Instagram feed while taking a break from the lab and she reminded me to toast spice seeds first for more flavor. At that point, I grabbed the few spice seeds I had on hand (sesame, fennel, and peppercorns), toasted them and then coarsely ground them to be used both as a garnish and surface layer flavoring. The spice mix gives you that initial hit of flavor priming you for the main ingredients, while also aiding in mouth feel and texture.

Health Benefits of Purple Cauliflower & Potato Soup

  • Cauliflower has a rich supply of health-promoting phytochemicals which aid in heart and brain disease
  • Daikon improves digestion, boosts immune system, and is anti-inflammatory agent
  • Fennel seeds aid in respiratory ailments like asthma, diabetes, and fertility

purple soup with purple cauliflower & purple potatoes in black bowl topped with spices

Key cooking tips for Purple Soup recipes

  • For more of a roasted flavor in the soup roast the main ingredients vs. boiling. Note, you may lose some of the bright purple color
  • Color tends to wash out when cooking and will vary depending on the vegetables. Red onions and the daikon definitely will whether you boil or roast. If boiling the potatoes will bleed purple into the water so when you blend, that color is still there.
  • Consider the size of vegetables and impact it will have on cooking time and thus flavor. Smaller cut vegetables will cook faster and lose less color, but won’t have as intense of flavor.
  • Definitely toast your spices to get more flavor into this dish
  • Depending on the desired level of creaminess, plan to add more water or stock.

Dope beats, fresh eats. Enjoy this purple cauliflower recipe. It’s visually stunning, full of good for you vibrant vegetables, and tastes damn good!

purple soup with purple cauliflower & purple potatoes in black bowl topped with spices

purple soup with purple cauliflower & purple potatoes in black bowl topped with spices

Purple Potato and Cauliflower Soup w/ Fennel Spice

Course: Soup
Cuisine: American, Modern Soul Food
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes


Print

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 purple cauliflower florets
  • 4 medium purple potatoes peeled and chopped
  • 1 large purple daikon peeled and chopped
  • 3-4 cups water + more as needed
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp Dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ground garlic
  • 1/2 tbsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin oil

Spice Mix

  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp Pistachios
  • 1/2 tsp Peppercorns
  • 1 small red onion, sliced

Instructions

  1. Saute red onions and daikon over medium heat for 3-4 minutes

  2. Add cauliflower florets, potatoes, a pinch of salt, and cover with water.

  3. Boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until vegetables are fork tender.
  4. Using a blender, mix the vegetables with the vegetable stock from the cooking.
  5. Return the soup to the pot, add the thyme, garlic, paprika and salt and mix well. Cook for 5 - 10 more minutes, stirring well and adjusting the seasoning as needed. If the soup is too thick, add more water until desired consistency.
  6. Toast pistachios in skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove pistachios and add seeds stirring often for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Grind pistachios and seeds coarsely with mortar and pestle.

Recipe Notes

  • For more of a roasted flavor in the soup roast the main ingredients vs. boiling. Note, you may lose some of the bright purple color
  • Color tends to wash out when cooking and will vary depending on the vegetables. Red onions and the daikon definitely will whether you boil or roast. If boiling the potatoes will bleed purple into the water so when you blend, that color is still there.
  • Consider size of vegetables and impact it will have on cooking time and thus flavor. Smaller cut vegetables will cook faster and lose less color, but want have as intense of flavor.
  • Definitely toast your spices to get more flavor into this dish
  • Depending on desired level of creaminess, plan to add more water or stock.

Recent Posts:

  • Southern Shrimp and Grits with Red Pepper GravySouthern Shrimp and Grits with Red Pepper Gravy
  • “I Choose You” Braised Beef Short Ribs In Red Wine and Fig Sauce“I Choose You” Braised Beef Short Ribs In Red Wine and Fig Sauce
Tweet
Share52
Pin14
Share
+1
66 Shares

Categories: Dairy-Free Tags: cauliflower, daikon, modern soul food, poatoes, Prince

Previous Post: « “do you really want an answer” brussels sprouts quesadillas
Next Post: “You Are What I’m All About” Cucumber Salad with Garlicky Herb Vinaigrette »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Food Advertising by logo

Find A Recipe!

Food Advertising by logo

I believe you can make easy weeknight dinner recipes that taste as good as Sunday meals but without all the effort. Read More…

Please follow & like us

Facebook
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow
Pinterest
Instagram

Popular Posts

“Era” Real Texas Beef Chili“Era” Real Texas Beef Chili
“Take Some, Leave Some” Smoked Baby Back Jerk Ribs“Take Some, Leave Some” Smoked Baby Back Jerk Ribs
“I’m Ready” cedar plank smoked stuffed portobello mushrooms“I’m Ready” cedar plank smoked stuffed portobello mushrooms
Southern Shrimp and Grits with Red Pepper GravySouthern Shrimp and Grits with Red Pepper Gravy
“find a way” gameday pork nachos with ham hocks“find a way” gameday pork nachos with ham hocks
“Baby I’m Scared of You” Instapot White Beans with Ham Hocks Recipe“Baby I’m Scared of You” Instapot White Beans with Ham Hocks Recipe
Grilled “Piri Piri” ShrimpGrilled “Piri Piri” Shrimp
“Sky’s The Limit” Southern Collard Greens With Smoked Turkey“Sky’s The Limit” Southern Collard Greens With Smoked Turkey
Load More...Follow on Instagram
Food Advertising by logo

Copyright© 2019 · Cookd Pro Theme by Shay Bocks

Privacy Policy