cauliflower and walnut soupings, home cooked heart ticks and walnuts the super nut

I remember the first time I had this, I was back in Adelaide at a great pub called the Exetor. It was when pub food was really wholesome because the mamma was doing the cooking…. her veggie soups were so hearty they could put hairs on your chest.
This one soup I have fond memories of, and it is really tasty and really easy to make. If you are a seasoned cook, you would know which veggies cook quickly; cutting down serious kitchen time….cauliflower just so happens to be one of those veggies.
Whilst, cauliflower isn’t super nutrient dense (apart from being a pretty awesome source of soluble fibre) you can add other ingredients to jazz up the nutrient value. Try walnuts on for size, containing phyto-nutrients like poly-phenols (esp. flavanoids), mixed tocopherol vitamin E and fibre. Taking walnuts up to envious heart health antioxidant status.
So, cauliflower and walnut soup should get a heart tick, right? Needless to say if the golden arches can get these ticks, home cooking should be ticking boxes all over the place.

What you will need is:

• about 30-40 mins
• a ¼ cup of a cooking oil
• a brown onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp of nutmeg
• a medium head of cauliflower
• 2 handfuls of walnuts
• 1 tbsp of veggie stock
• enough water to cover (about 2-3 lt)
• and salt and pepper to taste

1. heat oil in a saucepan
2. fry onion and garlic until soft
3. put in nutmeg, the cauliflower chopped up roughly and the walnuts. Stir in the pot until the walnuts are a little bit toasty but the nutmeg isn’t burning
4. add in the veggie stock and the top with enough water to cover the ingredients
5. bring to the boil and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 20 mins)
6. cool for about 5 mins and then process until smooth in a blender or food processor (you will probably have to do this in batches)
7. season to taste and presto it’s ready! You can make this in advance, because as like with every good soup, it’s even better the next day.

You can also add paprika, thyme, lemon zest and fresh parsley to this but I didn’t have any of this on hand at the time….use a little bit of imagination to take this soup to the next level