La Dolce Vegan

Last night I cracked open one of my favorite cookbooks, "La Dolce Vegan", and decided to make cauliflower red lentil soup, described by the cookbook as "a gorgeous and hearty soup that is great on its own, or served over rice". Not particularly feeling like rice, I decided to just try it out as a stand-alone soup, and I was not disappointed. Recipe is as follows, though I stuck to the amounts rather loosely because I wanted more soup.

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds (I only had ground, but the taste is great)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I realized too late that I had no fresh tomatoes, used canned diced tomatoes and it worked fine)

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced (skipped this ingredient)

1/2 tsp salt 

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, cook onions in oil until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and turmeric and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Add stock, cauliflower, tomatoes, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until veggies and lentils are cooked. Stir in the cilantro and salt, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

The resulting soup was hearty and flavorful, and the red pepper flakes gave it just the right amount of spiciness without it being too hot for me (I am notoriously bad at eating spicy things). My roommate and I ate it, smacking our lips and dipping crusty bread into the soup. He, a total omnivore, is pretty convinced now of the deliciousness of vegan cooking. This is a recipe that I can't wait to make again.