Serves 4
Total time: 35 minutes || Active time: 20 minutes
I’m always going on and on about vegan creaminess, so here I go again. Usually creamy texture is brought to us in the form of delicious fatty vehicles like cashews, tahini and avocado. Instead, here is an almost fat-free method that might not pack the decadent punch of a cashew based cream but gets you there all the same.
Cauliflower is pureed with a few other veggies and lots of basil until silky smooth. It’s actually a wonderful soup on its own, but bulked up with a pillowy gnocchi, white beans and wilted greens it becomes a meal unto itself.
I used Rising Moon Gnocchi (it’s not on their site for some reason) but there are lots of vegan gnocchis out there and if you’ve got Vegan With A Vengeance you can even make your own. I mean, you can use whatever cookbook you’d like to make your own, I’m just saying.
And keep this a secret, but the soup base on its own makes a great pasta sauce the next day, even without the basil. So if you don’t have all of these ingredients on hand right this second, definitely keep the cauliflower base in the back of your mind for the next time you’ve got a few florets impatiently starting back at you.
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small head cauliflower (about a pound), leaves removed, cut into florettes
4 cups vegetable broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
Big pinch dried thyme
Lots of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, plus a little extra for garnish
8 oz frozen gnocchi, partially thawed (leave on the counter for 30 minutes or so)
1 15 oz can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 small bunch swiss chard, stems discarded, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
Optional: I didn’t add them here, but toasted pine nuts would make a great garnish.
Preheat a 4 quart stock pot over medium heat. Saute garlic in olive oil for about a minute, being careful not to let it burn. Add cauliflower, 3 cups of broth (alert! only 3 of the cups! you’ll be adding the last cup in a bit), salt, thyme and several dashes fresh black pepper. Cover pot and bring to a boil, stirring every now and again for about 10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.
Vigorously mix together the final cup of broth and the arrowroot until dissolved. Lower heat a bit so that the soup is at a slow boil. Mix in the broth/arrowroot and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes until slightly thickened. stirring often. Add the basil leaves, and remove from heat. Use a submersion blender to puree until smooth*. Taste for salt and seasoning.
Return to the stove over medium heat and add the gnocchi, cover and let cook for 3 minutes or so. Add the greens and beans and cook until greens are completely wilted and beans are heated through, about 5 more minutes. Be careful as you stir not to crush the gnocchi or beans. Serve garnished with extra basil and pine nuts, if you like.
*If you don’t have a submersion blender (GET ONE!) then use a blender or food processor to puree in batches, being careful to lift the lid once in awhile so that the steam doesn’t build up and explode.
I love coming across a recipe and realizing I have everything already in the house, waiting to fulfill its dinner destiny.
There is no better feeling!
Note to self: No, it isn’t soup season anymore, but I am all over this, regardless. And I’ve always wanted to make gnocchi! I will have to wing it as my copy of Vegan with a Vengeance hasn’t been delivered to me yet by the Gods of Amazon.
This looks delicious, I’m going to try it out tonight!
This looks delish! Lucky for me, just say the word pesto and the kids are all over it. this is going on the menu ASAP.
Yum! Trader Joe’s has a vegan gnocchi! http://www.feedmeimcranky.com/2010/09/07/vegan-gnocchi-is-like-whoa/
This looks very delicious and actually quite summery as it has basil in it! I made a creamy soup with cauliflower and navy beans as the base the other day and it was so creamy. Blending in some basil will be happening the next time I make it! Some roasted grape tomatoes on top would also be a lovely addition.
Wellll I made a change – pureed the beans into the soup instead of thickening with arrowroot. And used a 16 oz package of shelf-stable gnocchi. This was good but next time I think I would blend the greens into the soup too, I wasn’t appreciative of the difference in texture between the greens, the thick soup, and the gnocchi.
Toasted pine nuts on top are a must, btw, oh man.
Dang this looks good! pine nuts on top sound amazing!
I don’t have an immersion blender (it’s on my list), so my way of dealing with hot soup is with my regular blender which has a lid that has a removable center (I think this is pretty standard, there’s a clear plastic thing that pops out). I take out the middle part, and hover a bowl that’s about the same size as the lid over the top to catch any splatter that might come out. That way, the steam can escape. I’ve exploded blenders waay to many times trying to use the occasional lift method.
My two favourite cookbooks: VWAV and Veganomicon and my two favourite chefs? Isa and Terry! We love to make soup for lunch over this side of the pond (UK) and I just know my other half will love this – beans, greens and soup! What more is there to ask for! Thanks for your infectious enthusiasm and freakin fantastic recipes.
made this today!
To die for!!!!!
only thing i wish i had added the carrots that have seen better days that i have chillin in my fridge
this soup is delicious and perfect for our rainy weather!
I tried this last night and it was an instant hit with my partner. Took me about 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking. This is a meal I would love to serve to my parents or skeptical omni friends. Definitely going in the home recipe book, thank you! (We also had some garlic bread on the side and it was SO GOOD soaked in the soup.)
swiss chard has got to be one of my favorite greens, and it seems like i always end up blending them! i’m on a huge soup kick, so this is appreciated. i’m really glad that this is a nut-free “pesto”.
🙂
Isa, I loved this. My husband and I just ate this dinner two nights in a row. To anyone out there that wants to go heavy-handed with the gnocchi–don’t. Just follow the directions 🙂 I am absolutely going to revisit this as a sauce for pasta. Delicious! Also loved your Rustic Stew–made that one last week.
Rising Moon does list its gnocchi online — it’s just inexplicably in the Ravioli section: http://www.risingmoon.com/productlist.aspx?catid=Frozen+Ravioli
This is tomorrow’s dinner for sure.
Haha, thanks!
I agree with all here, this soup is really good. The very next day I made the same cauliflower broth but used diced potatoes and shitakes for a no-clam chowder of sorts, also awesome. I think tonight I may use the base to do a cream of mushroom. Anyway, this recipe is genius so go make it now!
This is delicious. The cauliflower base is sheer brilliance. It made for a super creamy and flavorful broth. What a unique and awesome recipe. Thank you!
Gnocchi are my favourite and this soup looks like the best thing in the world. Can’t wait to try it!
Just putting the finishing touches to this soup. But I have already tasted it. Yummy!
I made this Friday. It was delicious! It did not have an overwhelming sulfurous cauliflower taste, just a gentle sweet cauliflower taste–really smart handling of the cauliflower, better than the old Laurel’s Kitchen recipe. The Rising Moon gnocchi were great with the pesto and the chard stayed nice even on reheating.
I stumbled upon your blog today searching for some inspiration as we prepare for our meatless month of may (http://wosushi.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/in-the-meatless-month-of-may/) and WOW! This looks amazing. I can’t wait to sit down and browse through more of your posts. I will definitely be basing next week’s grocery list on some of your recipes. 🙂
YUM CITY!
I think there could be more gnocchi, thats about it!
The stock I used is this one (which is amazing!): http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/11/01/bryannas-homemade-vegan-chicken-style-broth-powder/
Love it! Thank you.
your right…i do need an immersion blender..that was such a pain! but completely worth it! I practically doubled the beans..because we like our protein! and i went easy on the swiss chard so the texture wouldn’t be too varied. i’d like to experiment with different greens in the future with this cauliflower base.. Sundried tomato/ spinach, zucchini ,mushroom anyone?! THANK YOU!
I made this for a dinner party for my sister’s birthday – or rather, my daughter made it. It is DELISH! and so easy to make. For Aussies, swiss chard is silverbeet and we used Massell vege stock. Also, i think a stick blender might be an immersion blender?? Not sure, but that’s what we used and it was poyfect. Everybody loved the soup and asked for the recipe. It is so yummy and nutritious so thanks heaps for a great recipe xo
Paraphrase of comment #1:
I love coming across a recipe and realizing I might some day have everything already in the house, waiting to fulfill its dinner destiny.
This recipe speaks to my condition, and I look forward to making it in the near future (when in a place where pre-made gnocchi doesn’t cost $8 for 16 pieces, as it does here in west Africa). Thanks for a simple, tasty, healthy (eloquent) recipe, which anyone could come up with, but we don’t; only you do! Thank goodness for you.
Lovely photo, by the way.
I made a version of this soup last night, and it is honestly the best soup I’ve ever eaten!!! i had a huge head of cauliflower to get rid of so it was the perfect recipe.
i followed the first part of the recipe, and made the soup base. I pureed it in the blender, and meanwhile I sauteed a couple baby red new potatoes in a little olive oil, for about 5 minutes. Once the soup was pureed I dumped it back into a pot and added the potatoes and maybe a cup of corn (some frozen, some canned). I let it boil for another couple minutes, so the potatoes would get a little soft. It turned out wonderfully…like a pesto chowder! So wonderful and thick. Thanks so much for the recipe.
That’s the spirit! This is such a good base for experimentation and cooking what you have on hand.
I just bought a huge head of cauliflower, planning to make caulipots (again!). I’ve since reevaluated my life and decided that this recipe has won the cauliflower’s favor and shall be created at once!
This is amazing, make it now. It’s so easy, I’m not the greatest cook but it came out perfectly. Actually I had run out of olive oil so I used lime infused avocado oil which I was worried wouldn’t work but it still came out amazing. Everybody in the house, even the fussy eater, went back for second helpings. It’s so creamy and so insanely delicious.
OMG. I have some butternut squash gnocchi in the freezer that I need to eat. I bet they’d be perfect in this!
Lately I feel like I’m rediscovering cauliflower just like I rediscovered cashews a couple of years ago. It’s seriously awesome how versatile that vegetable is.
Looks absolutely superb! What a wonderful mix of hearty texture and light spring flavors.
My.non vegan husband adored this soup. Though he did add cheese. I used fresh borlotti (pink) beans as they are in season here in Australia. I love the thickness the blended cauliflower adds with all of it’s cruciferous goodness. Well done Isa you’re my new favorite cook.
I love gnocci, and I love pesto! What a great idea for a soup. I often make pesto with kale instead of basil. Do you think it would compliment the flavors you have going on? I will definitely be trying this.
This soup is AMAZING. My blender was breaking in the process but I held it together with masking tape, paper towels and brute force so that I could get the soup smooth enough and finish blending. Completely worth the effort, however now I need to get a new blender (Submersion blender maybe? 😛 ) so that I can make it again!
This soup is filling, delicious and absolutely perfect especially if you love pesto.
This was a great recipe with homemade sweet potato gnocchi. If you’ve never made gnocchi before, I was surprised by how easy and inexpensive it is to make!
Amazing soup! I’ll use any and every excuse to eat gnocchi, thanks for yet another reason. Is this recipe in one of your books? I’m trying to decide which one to get next (I have, and adore, VCTOTW) and am having a tough time deciding.
I just made this soup and it was fantastic! I absolutely love your site – I have been trying to find vegan recipes that appeal to my (carnivore) husband as well, and my lord I think I’ve found it! I made your potato salad on the weekend and it was a huge hit. Thanks for making going vegan that much easier!
I’ve fallen….. in love with this recipe as well as your site!!!! So glad I came across it :)!
Made this tonight! Easy and delicious. Big hit with the whole family 🙂 Thanks
This is sooooo good. But please don’t discard your chard stems. Saute them with some more garlic and olive oil and then cook covered with a little water for a few minutes.
Made this last night and it was a big hit with the whole family! Just delicious – and really easy too!
I don’t know if it was my immersion blender or my skills – but I had to put some of the soup with the basil in a blender to actually get the basil blended. But it was worth the effort and the extra dishes!
I totally love you.