Turmeric Vegetable Soup with Cauliflower, Carrots & Celery

Every few months I make 4-6 big batches of soup over several days.  All are mostly vegetables, although some have beans in them.  And I am always looking for new recipes, especially ones where the vegetables can be baked on a sheet pan or cooked in the crockpot. Most recipes I double and after cooking puree. Creamy pureed soups hit the spot for me at lunch.  I warm a large cup pf soup and enjoy it with half a sandwich, a small salad, or a rice cake with something on it. 

At the end of the batch cooking I decide which soups won't be made again, and which will go into rotation.  Sometimes that just depends on my mood that day, as when I think back I realize with a few taste adjustments, a recipe might shine the next time.  All are packaged in those tall plastic freezer containers they use for soups sold in delis.  They hold about 3.5 cups which is 2 lunches for me.  

This turmeric flavored soup was inspired by a recipe from Maeve Taylor. I found it on a page called Mediterranean Diet & Recipes For Beginners. I of course made changes as I had a lot different veggies I wanted to use up.  What you see below is what I put into this time, but it might be different next time depending what I have in my refrigerator that needs to be eaten. I did puree it this time, but I am sorry I did. Mea culpa. It would be best eaten as a more traditional soup so the seasoning of the broth can shine. I show her photo above as mine is of the pureed version which I didn't feel worked as well. 

I doubled the recipe and made it in the crockpot for ease, but include instructions for stovetop and crockpot below.  Enjoy!

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Turmeric Vegetable Soup with Cauliflower, Carrots & Celery 

Ingredients:

1 T                        Olive oil (only for stove top or sheet pan, not crockpot)
1                           Sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves                Garlic (if you do sheet pan you could roast a whole head)
Fresh Ginger (optional ingredient I thought of but haven't tried yet). Try a small amount minced to start. 

2 stalks                 Celery, sliced 
2                            Large carrots, peeled and sliced
2  C                       Cauliflower florets

1/2                         Small container mushrooms, sliced

2 C                        Cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tsp                      Ground turmeric
1/2 tsp                   Ground cumin
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup water

Salt and black pepper, to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 C                     Chopped fresh parsley (I didn't add this - not my fav)

Note - to up the protein you could add a can of beans (well rinsed). I would choose one with a milder taste such as chickpeas, butter beans or lentils. 

Crockpot - 

Place all ingredients except the lemon and parsley in a large crockpot, stir gently until well combined.  Cook on high 4 hours. Add lemon (and parsley if you want it)

Stove Top - 

Saute the onion and garlic (and ginger if used) in the oil for a few minutes. Add the celery, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Continue to saute until softened (not mushy).  Add the broth, water, turmeric, and cumin. If you want to add beans I would add them here. 

Simmer for 10-15 minutes, just long enough to combine flavors.  Add lemon juice (and parsley if you want), and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.