Pretty Purple Cream-less Creamy Veggie Soup (AIP/Paleo/GF/DF/Vegan Option)

Dishes by Lux Eros , hand-forged serveware by Beautifully Served By Jill and napkin by The Milo House and photo as always by me, Jenna Peffley — Dishes by **Lux Eros** , hand-forged serveware by **Beautifully Served By Jill** and napkin by **The Milo House** and photo as always by me, **Jenna Peffley**

It’s just the prettiest purple soup you ever did see! Plus it tastes really f’ing good too. Cozy, nourishing, and packs a nutrition punch! This soup, like everything else I make, is really easy to modify with whatever you may have on hand. If you don’t have purple cauliflower, it works just fine with regular white cauliflower, and it actually doesn’t have to be purple at all, but it sure does look pretty when it is! As with most “creamy” veggie soups, you can sub things out, add more or less - it will still be tasty. Because veggies were meant to mush together into a soup.

Things that will make your life easier in making this and many other soups and things:

A stick blender or another blender that can handle soup. I’ve had THIS one for years and love it!
The Instant Pot or a different pressure cooker. It can be made in a regular stock pot too, but I love using the Instant Pot for soups! Both recipes below just in case.

Don’t have a blender? You can still make this soup, it just won’t be blended. And that’s ok - it will still taste good.

*Another thing to note - roasting veggies up drizzled in olive oil and fancy salt at 425° for 20 minutes prior to cooking gives a little boost in flavor. While I don’t think this is necessary and it is a lot more time consuming, if it’s something you want to try and you have the time, go for it! I like to keep it as simple as possible in my tiny kitchen which is why I don’t call for this in my recipe. I used to always make it this way until I discovered it didn’t make a hugely noticable difference and preferred to save myself the extra step.

INGREDIENTS

1 head of Cauliflower (ideally purple, but white or gold or even green works great too) chopped into florets. You can also cook the middle part, just chop it up as you would anything else (or feed it to the dog - mine LOVES the center of a head of cauliflower)
6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 purple onion, peeled and chopped roughly
1 Celeriac (Celery root) peeled and roughly chopped up - if you can’t find this, try 1-2 parsnips chopped. If you can’t find those, try a purple or a white sweet potato chopped? If you can do nightshades, a regular chopped up potato would work well too. And if you can’t find any of those things? Just use an extra 1/2 head of cauliflower. Or add them all in!
Optional add in for color and flavor - chopped purple carrots! A deep red beet or two (peeled and chopped)! The more the merrier in my world.
Water (I’ve also done it with bone broth and it’s great and extra nourishing that way too, but vegan and definitely not as purple)
Optional - 1 cup coconut cream (you don’t need this and it’s still delicious without it but it does make it creamier)
Optional - 1-2 tbsp arrowroot starch (you don’t need this, but it does make it thicker)
Fancy Salt of choice (be generous with your salting - at least a tbsp
Preferred seasonings. At least 1 tbsp - I love Herbs de Provence (THIS brand is AIP compliant) and garlic powder as a standard go to
Fresh seasonal herbs - I love lavender, rosemary, and sage, and lemon thyme with this but you can use whatever you have on hand. Rosemary is a great staple that keeps for a while and a pretty garnish too!
1/4 cup coconut oil / cooking fat of choice.

RECIPE - INSTANT POT

Turn Instant Pot on to Sauté and add in coconut oil/cooking fat of choice to the bottom. Add in onion and garlic and stir for 2 minutes, then add in salt and seasonings and other veggies and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. If you need a little more oil, add it!
Add in enough liquid (water or broth) to almost cover the veggies. If you prefer your soup to be thicker, then leave about a 1/2 inch of veggies coming out the top of the water, and if you prefer it to be thinner, then add extra water to completely submerge all veggies. I typically use about 4-5 cups of water or broth, or a combo of the two. You do you.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is sealed. Set pressure to “Soup/Broth” setting or use the Pressure Cook button and set for 18 minutes.
After it’s done, allow pressure to release all the way naturally, or at least for 10 minutes and then manually release pressure with valve before opening.
If you are adding coconut milk and/or arrowroot starch, now’s the time. Then using your stick blender, blend until it’s pureéd to your liking. If you are using a blender, transfer it to the blender and blend! Taste and add salt as needed. Garnish and serve!

RECIPE - STOCK POT

Turn burner on medium and add in coconut oil/cooking fat of choice to the bottom. Add in onion and garlic and stir for 2 minutes, then add in salt and seasonings and other veggies and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. If you need a little more oil, add it!
Add in enough liquid (water or broth) to just cover the veggies. I typically use about 4-5 cups of water or broth, or a combo of the two. You do you.
Turning the heat to medium/high, cook for 20 minutes with a lid on, and then stir and reduce heat to medium and let cook for another hour or until all veggies are tender enough to pureé. Depending on the thickness of the veggies, this may take shorter or longer so keep an eye on it.
If you are adding coconut milk and/or arrowroot starch, now’s the time. Then using your stick blender, blend until it’s pureéd to your liking. If you are using a blender, transfer it to the blender and blend! Taste and add salt as needed. Garnish and serve!

I love to serve these up with some homemade crackers or if I’m treating myself, some Cocobakes Gluten Free Sourdough bread (this is NOT AIP/Paleo, but I can actually handle it really well as a sometimes treat - I don’t know what magic she’s figured out, but this normally intolerant to everything person is a huge fan)!