Do you have a stuffy nose? Is there lint in your belly button? Or perhaps you need to clean the wax out of your ears? No problem. Make this recipe according to the directions and your nose will unplug, the lint will burn up, and the wax will melt in your ears. This is the first Mustard's Grill recipe to confound me. The soup was too darn hot! When I first looked at the recipe, I wondered at the "3 to 4 tablespoons of curry paste" called for in the recipe. I feared that 4 was too much, so I used a scant 3 tablespoons. And instead of the 3 jalapenos in the recipe, I used just 1. I figured I was being careful. Wrong! When I sampled the soup after it had cooked for a while, I started coughing and flames shot out of my ears. I took those to be good indicators that the soup had warning signs all over it for me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because the garden next to Mustard's Grill has many huge habanero bushes, covered with the fiery little peppers. Obviously, they like hot dishes there.
Maybe I'm just a wimp, because my husband enjoyed the soup. He's always been able to eat hot dishes better than me. He used to have jalapeno pepper eating contests with my Aunt Scotty. (Scotty won.) I do recommend this soup, but I would start off with just one tablespoon of the curry paste and taste the soup to see if you want to add more. And for heaven's sake, be careful about adding the extra peppers. You could just leave them out altogether. There's a lot of good stuff in this soup. I used sweet and white potatoes in it. And it called for your choice of using either fresh or crystalized ginger root. I used the latter and it was fun to toss that into the soup pot, where it melted into the broth.
Even though this soup was a surprise to me, it's still a good recipe, so I'm submitting it for Thursday Soup Or Stew Night held by the lovely Cyndi at Cookin' With Cyndi. And Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!
Curried Cauliflower Noodle Soup
(Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 serrano or jalapeno peppers, seeded if you don't want the heat, and minced (I used only one seeded jalapeno)
1 onion sliced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and cut into moon shaped slices
8 pieces crystallized ginger, or 1/3 cup peeled and grated ginger root
3 to 4 tablespoons curry paste or curry powder (CAUTION ON THIS)
1 cup white wine
2 sweet potatoes or white potatoes, peeled and julienned. (I used 1 sweet potato and 1 white potato)
1 small head of cauliflower, sliced
8 cups vegetable stock--or chicken stock
1 cup egg noodles
1 cup coconut milk (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Garnishes
Chopped fresh cilantro
Toasted sliced almonds
Heat oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions are wilted. Add the carrots, ginger, and curry and cook for a few more minutes. Add the wine and cook until it reduces by half. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, and stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the veggies are soft, but not falling apart.
If you are serving the soup right away, add the noodles about 10 minutes before it's done. Or cook the noodles separately and reserve them to add to the soup when you're ready to eat it. When the vegetables are done, add the coconut milk and season with the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the cilantro and almonds.
Just look at this glorious curry soup, my nose starts tickling :D and kudo to your husband's heat tolerance!
Posted by: gattina | February 14, 2007 at 03:25 AM
I am (somewhat famously) not a cauliflower person, but I'm trying to learn to love it. So I'm thinking I might try this soup but puree it before adding the noodles.
Posted by: Lydia | February 14, 2007 at 04:41 AM
This looks really yummy! I always have a crave for curry noodles but haven't tried the vegetarian version. Sher, you are right about being cautious over curry paste. I just had my Thai Curry Chicken which I grew a bit far on curry paste. Result? Yummy but I nearly cried eating it :D
Posted by: Anh | February 14, 2007 at 05:06 AM
I am so glad to have found this blog via food porn watch - not only are these recipes amazing, but I really enjoy your writing style along with the recipes! :) Happy V Day! Cheers!
Posted by: Amy K | February 14, 2007 at 06:58 AM
As much as I lvoe spicy foods, I've yet to try curry! This looks great.
Posted by: s'kat | February 14, 2007 at 08:14 AM
How I wish I could have seen those flames!!
;-)
It sounds great, but yeah, you need to be judicious with that curry paste
Posted by: Kate | February 14, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Well, FOUR tablespoons of curry paste + THREE jalapenos = FAR TOO HOT!!! I could see using just a couple T's of the paste and maybe one pepper. But this does sound wonderful, especially right now, when it's 9 degrees out and the snow is piled high. A great new way to use cauliflower, which I love.
Happy V-day to you, too!
Posted by: Lisa | February 14, 2007 at 10:53 AM
Snort. Sorry to laugh but in the picture it looks so mild-mannered, not nearly so devilish. But looks can be deceiving! Looks yummy. Glad Bob enjoyed it.
Posted by: Glenna | February 14, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Yes, Yes and Yes!!! I agree with Glenna, this little charmer looks so innocent and not so naughty. Happy Valentines Day
Posted by: Callipygia | February 14, 2007 at 12:44 PM
For some reason I don't care too much for curry, I don't know why really. It's weird. Maybe I just need to give it another try! But man, this soup looks good, especially on a day like today (rainy outside).
Happy Valentine's Day to you! :)
Posted by: Jennifer | February 14, 2007 at 01:07 PM
i have lint in my bellybutton. shhh, dont tell. i'd love to cook w/ chrystalized ginger too, so cool! this looks awesome though, sans as much spice as it calls for. your not a wimp, curry alone is already very spicy isnt it?
nevermind that, happy valentines day to you and your sweethearts :):)
Posted by: aria | February 14, 2007 at 02:30 PM
This looks spectacular! Really beautiful.
And I think I could handle the heat. Sounds divine!
Posted by: Tanna | February 14, 2007 at 03:58 PM
Looks really warm and am sure won't be "hot" for me :)
Posted by: Sandeepa | February 14, 2007 at 04:53 PM
Hot Stuff!! This looks like my kind of soup.
Posted by: Scott | February 14, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Oh, Sher! Look at the colours in that soup. It's a work of art!
Posted by: Ivonne | February 14, 2007 at 06:08 PM
AHah this is funny. It reminds me of the first time I cooked Indian, underestimating the spices too. Now I am ALWAYS careful and when told 2 tsp, always put less! In any case, your soup looks great!
Posted by: Bea at La Tartine Gourmande | February 14, 2007 at 07:45 PM
Gattina,
He really loves the hot food. So, he was quite happy with this soup. But, his face did get a little sweaty as he was eatin git! :)
Lydia,
This was a nice way to eat the cauliflower. It didn't taste like it usually does in this soup, maybe because of the coconut milk and other things. You might like it (and it doesn't have to be hot).
Anh,
Yes, I LOVE curry. Love it. But, I don't like it too hot. But, curry paste and coconut milk is my idea of heaven! :)
Amy K,
I'm so glad you found me! I just looked at your blog and I really like the way you've put it together. And hope you had a great Valentine's Day.
s'kat,
Curry is one of my favorite things to eat. When I was trying to be vegan, a favorite red snapper with green curry kept popping up in my mind and drove me crazy.
Kate,
Oh, there were flames shooting out of me--that's for sure! :):)
Lisa,
Yes, I should have thought to start out erring on the side of caution. But, I love Mustard Grill recipes, so I trusted the author Cindy Pawlcyn. Oh well, many people like hot curry.
Glenna,
Yes, it does look mild-mannered!!! Well, it wasn't!!! :):) Sneaky curry dish.
Callipygia,
Yes, I was lulled by the pretty golden color!!! I learned my lesson. :) Hope you had a happy Valentines Day.
Jennifer,
Sometimes we just don't like a taste. I know there are types of food that I don't like, but others do. I used to force myself to eat food I wasn't crazy about, to try and give it a chance. Then I decided, this was about food, not world peace! So, I don't eat what I don't like. :):)
Aria,
Yes, it was fun to toss a big handful of crystalized ginger into the pot! And fast if you aren't in the mood to pulverize fresh ginger. Yes, curry is spicy. If it's spicy the way I like it--it's great. But, this was too much for me!
Tanna, Sandeepa, and Scott,
Alright! You are all the people that can appreciate this kind of recipe, along with my husband and Aunt. I would mail you some of the leftovers, if I could. :):)
Ivonne,
Thank you--I do enjoy looking at the pretty color of this soup.
Bea,
Yes, I must remember to be careful the next time. When a dish is too hot for a person, we can't really taste it as well as we should.
Posted by: sher | February 14, 2007 at 11:39 PM
That looks absolutely marvelous and very comforting!
Happy Valentine's Day to you too...
Posted by: Rosa | February 15, 2007 at 06:22 AM
Hey Sher
Waiting for the left overs to warm up in this snow :)
Posted by: sandeepa | February 15, 2007 at 06:53 AM
What a vibrant photo and delicious recipe!
And bring on the heat! I even love the little tingling sensation I get in my belly after eating hot peppers. ;)
Posted by: Susan from Food "Blogga" | February 15, 2007 at 09:39 AM
It does like quite innocuous (but tasty, still). You know it's going to be hot though when you have to open the windows when you're cooking it - the chili makes your eyes and nose stream!
Posted by: Freya | February 15, 2007 at 10:18 AM
Hey Sher,
This soup looks and sounds great! Did you use can curry paste or a Simply Asia one?
Posted by: burcu | February 16, 2007 at 05:27 PM
Yum, I love the way this looks and sounds!
Posted by: Ari (Baking and Books) | February 17, 2007 at 07:03 AM
I love soups and curried cauliflower noodle soup looks delicious and spicy
-Sushma
Posted by: Sushma | February 17, 2007 at 10:25 PM
I LOVE curried cauiflower. That looks absolutly delicious.
Posted by: Jamie | April 28, 2008 at 09:48 PM