Cauliflower Chowder with Vegan Walnut Pesto

My Cauliflower Chowder with Vegan Walnut Pesto is absolutely my new favorite soup year round. It’s creamy, filling, nutty, and hearty. I made a huge pot the other night thinking I would freeze half of it, but the family had 2-3 bowls each, and scraped that last bowl clean.

Remember that cauliflower is a crucifer, which means that it’s full of disease-preventing compounds. How you prepare your cauli before cooking and eating can make all the difference in terms of maximizing these special compounds.

You can make the pesto ahead of time, and it will keep for up to 2 weeks in your fridge. It’s perfect because you can get another dinner out of it –  a beautiful whole wheat Pesto Penne Pasta perhaps!

My Cauliflower chowder with vegan walnut pesto recipe is oil-free, dairy-free, and one of the most healing soups ever.

Cauliflower Chowder

• 1 small head of cauliflower, with outer leaves and stalk removed
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
• 2-3 tbsp veggie broth
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 stick of celery or 1 leek, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup raw cashews (preferably pre-soaked for a few hours) and/or 1/2 cup silken tofu*
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

*the silken tofu adds a little more protein, but those who are allergic, leave it out.

Instructions

1. Steam the cauli and potato until fork tender, drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the veggie broth in a skillet. Saute the onion, garlic, leek/celery and cumin for a few minutes over a low heat until softened.
3. Place the cauli, potato and onion mixture in a high-speed blender with the broth, cashews, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
4. When you are ready to eat it, pour it back into the saucepan to heat, or if you have a Vitamix, just keep blending until it’s steamy hot. Season to taste.

Vegan Walnut Pesto