When you have a family to feed, you find yourself making a lot of soups. They’re easy, versatile, healthy, and can be eaten for many days in a row. They warm your bones on a cold, foggy day. However, it is easy to get stuck in a soup rut. I think I made the exact same vegetable lentil soup for three years, and rarely made another kind. I didn’t even want to eat it anymore. Some friends came over for a potluck dinner the other evening, and gave me a burst of soup inspiration. Here is a secret tip for really good soups: ADD A CAN OF COCONUT MILK!
Whatever the type of soup, whatever the ingredients, it will be delicious! Take your vegetable soup, beef stew, bone broth, chicken broth, tomato soup or whatever you’ve got, and turn it into a creamy, exotic meal.
The last few weeks, we’ve had so many tomatoes, that I just chop them, put them in a pot with onions and other veggies, and add the coconut milk with a little yellow curry paste. It’s amazing!
We had a head of cauliflower sitting forlornly in the back of the fridge, and I decided to make some of our favorite Greek cauliflower fritters go with our curry soup the other night. Apparently they are eaten cold as a common picnic food in Greece. I think they’re just as good piping hot. Here’s the recipe from “From a Traditional Greek Kitchen” by Aphrodite Polemis:
Cauliflower Fritters
(Kounoupidi Tighanitos)
1 large cauliflower
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. wine vinegar
1 cup flour (or gluten-free baking mix)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk, buttermilk, or coconut milk
1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil
Cut off thick stem from cauliflower and boil head in salted water for 20 minutes. Drain and chop into small florettes. Sprinkle with parsley and vinegar and let stand for 20 minutes.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, egg and butter in a bowl. Fold in florettes. Heat olive oil in pan and cook little pancakes of the fritter mixture until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.
thank you for the coconut milk secret!:)
heike
I just got a MONSTROUS head of cauliflower today from the csa. I mean, this thing is probably a ten pounder… Fritters will be made. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Lots of “cheddar” cauliflower in the garden this year and I’ve been looking for recipes. I’ll try this one later this evening after this triple digit heat subsides for the day. There’s a GREAT recipe for cauliflower on line called “Adtaki Gobhi” Ginger cauliflower. Check it out. Lots of fresh ginger, tomatoes and delicious spices. Yummy hot or cold.
That’s “Adraki gobi”.