Whole roasted garlic pod, anyone? If that is music to your ears, you are going to love this soup. I roast 3 (yes, you read that right) THREE FULL pods of garlic in the air-fryer (or use the oven) and then squeeze out that caramelized garlic into the soup. While the beans and cauliflower cook merrily along on the stove, we quickly wilt some collard green ribbons on the stove top over medium-high heat, so they get a little crispy, and use those as a garnish. Drizzled generously with olive oil, this is a comforting soup that is just so wholesome and exactly what the doctor ordered for February.
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But wait - first, I want to invite you to join the brand new v8well Cooking Club! During the book launch process, I got asked a lot about We Ate Well and I kept calling it a community for foodies. But when I think about it, this has largely been a one-sided flow of information :) I would love to get to know many of you better, and provide a platform for like-minded readers to meet each other as well! So I borrowed an idea from
and hereby institute the v8well Cooking Club. We will meet once a month, virtually (Zoom) and cook a recipe from The Vegetarian Reset. I would LOVE for you to cook along with me so that it’s easy for you to make it yourself the next time, but no pressure. I understand you might be working, or doing something else, so as long as you follow along, it should help you. (And you don’t need to turn on your camera if you’re not in the mood:))
I will be sharing tips and tricks, a little bit about myself, and will also have a Q&A! The first cooking club is tentatively planned for Friday, Feb 24th, 11am-12pmEST. We will be making my Hazelnut Brownies that are sweetened naturally with dates! If you don’t have the book yet make sure you get it beforehand so you have the recipe.
I know you guys are spread out all over the world, so if you are interested to join, can you hit your time zone in this little survey below? If there’s enough demand for a different time zone, I’ll try to make it work or schedule another session.
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Garlicky White Bean Soup with Crispy Collards
Ingredients
One medium head cauliflower, about 600g, roughly chopped
3 pods of garlic
olive oil, lots
3 [15 oz./400g] cans cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups/960ml vegetable broth, more as needed
Fine sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
chile flakes, to taste
9 oz./250g collard greens, de-stemmed and sliced into thin ribbons
Directions
Step 1. Bring broth to a boil on in a large saucepan, for which you have a lid. Add the cauliflower and cook covered, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Step 2. As the cauliflower cooks, slice off the top of the garlic pods and drizzle them with olive oil. Wrap in foil and place in the air-fryer. Air-fry at 375F/190C for 25 minutes or until the garlic is nicely browned. If using the oven, bake at 450F/230C for 20-30 minutes, checking in between, until browned. Let cool.
Step 3. Add the beans to the saucepan and let them cook along with the cauliflower. Carefully unwrap the foil and squeeze out the garlic cloves into a cup (they will be soft and mashed), then transfer to the saucepan. Cook for about 5 minutes, then turn off the stove and blend until smooth with an immersion blender. Add salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice and chile flakes.
Step 4. In a small skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high. When hot, add the collard greens - they should sizzle as they hit the pan. Toss and cook until wilted and bright green, 2-3 minutes. Turn off the stove.
Garnish the soup with a generous drizzle of olive oil (I used a chili oil) and the collard ribbons and serve.
I read Sally Norton’s Toxic Superfoods, where she discusses how a compound called oxalate that is present in many plants can build up in our bodies and make us sick, with extremely diverse symptoms ranging from joint pain to kidney stones. Oxalate is present in high concentrations in spinach, almonds, chia seeds and other plant foods that are deemed ‘superfoods’ today, and she points out how we tend to eat them in large quantities all year long, not knowing that they might not always be benign. I am not sure how big a problem this is, but this book certainly made me more cognizant of how important it is to eat a diverse diet and not be too concentrated on a few ingredients - i.e., nothing is benign, not even a superfood! For example, eating seasonally - using collard greens in the winter instead of spinach, or snacking on walnuts instead of almonds always, could help us moderate our oxalate consumption. Curious if you’ve ever had an issue with oxalates?
To listen
Listen to Dr. Mindy Pelz explain How to Fast Like a Girl on The Dhru Purohit Podcast. Most research on intermittent fasting has been conducted on young white males, so the effects on women, particularly menstruating women, are not well-understood. Her book and this podcast help to shed much needed light on how we can fast in sync with our ovulation cycles.
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Cookbook News
My cookbook is now in BARNES & NOBLE you guys! This is beyond exciting - I went on a signing spree so you can get signed copies at BN 5th avenue or Union Square in NYC. Can you spot it here?
If you are on Facebook, join my cookbook group here and share your pictures as you cook along from the book! You can also ask questions about recipes and I will help in any way I can.
Australia friends, I know more people who just got their book so I live in hope that Amazon is close to sorting out this issue!
Write a review. Pretty Please. It is the most impactful way to support my work and help others.
