Yummy vegan golden soup

January is here, along with new year resolutions (that may or may not have gone by the wayside), chilly weather and what seems like a long time until the days start to lengthen and Spring pops up. In what always feels like the longest, dullest month of the year, it’s good to have something to bring some warming cheer. So today I give you golden soup. The yellowest soup you will ever see, packed full of soothing yet powerful anti-inflammatory nutrients. And it tastes lush too!

The golden glow in this tasty soup comes from the magical root, turmeric.

Turmeric contains a multitude of powerful phytonutrients. However, supplements tend to focus on just one, curcumin. As with all ‘medicines’, supplements tend to focus on just one element. This makes sense as they apply the same research criteria as medications to see if it works or not.

However, as with all plant foods, turmeric has a multitude of phytonutrients that work together, and more effectively, as a team. Nature provides the amounts we need; have a high concentration of just one is great profit for supplement companies, but might provide the right outcome for us, the consumer.

The healing properties of turmeric have been known for centuries. It’s commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, taken internally as well as externally on the skin in thick or thin pastes. It has strong anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties.

Interestingly, turmeric is so effective, people on medications like blood thinners, diabetic drugs or chemotherapy are advised to be cautious and speak to their doctor to make sure it’s suitable for them. This means it works in a similar way, making the medication effects more potent. Increasing the effectiveness may make the blood too thin or blood sugar levels too low. It’s powerful stuff.

This always makes me think – why does our healthcare system promote expensive meds over cheaper dietary options that come with less side effects? But I must also say here, never stop taking prescribed medication without first discussing it with your doctor – make sure it is safe to do so.

Curcumin supplements for joint pain are popular as research suggests high concentrations can help reduce inflammation in arthritis. Equally, I know people who have taken these supplements and say they don’t help. This is because pill popping on its own rarely works. Other changes are needed to, like a consuming a more whole food plant based diet, weight loss, gentle exercise, stress reduction and good sleep. Boring, maybe, but true! And it’s been proven too. The Plants for Joints team have shown fantastic results in their patients with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis – have a look at this article for more info.

If you want to know more about turmeric and it’s marvellous benefits, this is an interesting article looking at it’s uses in food and medicine. I also talk a bit more about turmeric in this sauce recipe.

To get the best out of any turmeric you consume it has to be bioavailable, or available for absorption in the gut. It needs to be consumed with a source of fat and piperine, a bioactive compound in black pepper. This is why I use cashew nuts in this recipe along with lashings of freshly ground black pepper. If you are nut free, then use sunflower seeds instead – you’ll need to soak them for a good couple of hours ahead though.

Turmeric is not the only nutrient powerhouse in this recipe – cauliflower is a close second. This awesome member of the cruciferous family proves that just because a food is white, it doesn’t mean it’s not good for you!

Although it may not have the range of phytonutrients found in more colourful veg, cauliflower still contains lots of sulphur-based compounds that are known to have an anti-cancer effect – and of course make it stinky when cooked 😉 On top of that, the good old cauli contains vitamins K, C, B’s, potassium and of course gut-loving fibre. It’s also a good source of the trace mineral boron, basically because it won’t grown in boron deplete soil.

When cooked, cauliflower can be blended to create a beautifully creamy texture, perfect for soups and sauces. This is why it pops up in my soup recipes. Here’s three others to check out:

• Cauliflower, red pepper and sweet potato chowder (click here for recipes)
• Parsnip and cauliflower soup (click here for recipe)
• Cauliflower and chestnut soup (click here for recipe)

There’s lots of coughs and colds around at the moment, so a serving of this tasty soup will definitely help if you’re feeling poorly and run down. Or keep the bugs at bay. I hope you love it as much as we do. Don’t forget to let me know how you get on with the recipe by dropping a comment in the box below.

Golden soup

A delicious, powerfully anti-inflammatory soup that supports the body from the inside out

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 portions

Course: Soup

Calories:

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1 small onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 fat clove garlic
• 1 small cauliflower
• 75 grams cashew nuts or sunflower seeds if nut free
• ½-1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 500 ml vegetable stock or hot water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• dairy-free yoghurt to serve optional

Method

 

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and dice the carrot. Peel and grate the garlic.
2. Remove any tough outer cauliflower leaves but keep small, tender ones. Cut out the hard core then chop the florets and softer stems plus small leaves.
3. Place the cashew nuts into a bowl of hot water to soak.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of water in the base of a large pan. Add the onion and carrot. Saute on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the veggies start to soften.
5. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Pop in the chopped cauliflower and ground turmeric and stir well. Drain the cashews and add them to the pan. Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil then pop on the lid and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.
7. Turn off the heat then blend to smooth with a stick blender.
8. Season well with black pepper and a little salt if desired.
9. Serve piping hot with a swirl of dairy free yoghurt and extra black pepper if desired.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!