Last week. Do I even need to say anything about it? I don’t think I do – I mean, I could, but so many other people have said everything more eloquently than I ever could. But, what the fuck – last week was a goddamn shit sandwich. As usual, The Onion sums up my feelings quite nicely. 

I’ve never been the type of person who loses their appetite in times of stress or worry. Instead, I want to tuck into a bowl of popcorn lovingly popped in duck fat or a pint of Salt & Straw Salted Caramel ice cream or endless glasses of these. I want to throw dinner parties where all my loved ones are sitting around a table with overflowing bowls of gnocchi or hearty servings of tortilla soup. When I don’t know what to do – I eat. I cook. I feed people.

Since Marathon Monday, I have been preoccupied by mashed potatoes. For as long as I can remember, mashed potatoes have been my ultimate comfort food. Scratch that, my mom’s mashed potatoes have been what I craved anytime I had a cold or was having a bad week at school or just generally needed a culinary hug. It’s funny because mashed potatoes never make an appearance in my kitchen. They’re now delegated to what I eat more than one serving of on Thanksgiving – a once per year treat. But, man, on Monday – the mashed potato cravings hit me wicked hard.

I planned on making mashed potatoes this weekend – but when I opened my fridge and saw a huge cauliflower waiting for me – I changed course. See, I love potatoes (love, love, love them) but my arthritis doesn’t. Excess nightshades tend to make me feel crappy and achy – which is not what I wanted from my comfort food. So, I contemplated cauliflower.

I knew that I wanted something warm that tasted decadent that wasn’t too much of a gut bomb. So, I ran to the store and grabbed a potato to puree with the cauliflower – if you are nightshade sensitive or just avoiding potatoes – you can easily leave it out, the texture of your soup will be different, but it will still be delicious. I punched up the soup with a bit of pesto made from Brazil nuts and spinach – it broke up the monotony of the whiteness and every time I add a bit of green to my food I automatically give myself a high five for being healthy. Even if “healthy” means including a lot of parmesan cheese and olive oil. But this dish is the perfect blank canvas, you could surely take advantage of the gorgeous Spring produce and make a nettle pesto instead or do something creative with garlic scapes. Really, the possibilities are endless. I added a touch of cashew cream to up the comfort ante – a generous splash of heavy cream would work as well.

This was every bit of comfort that I needed it to be – warm, a bit spicy, perfect to curl up with while Arrested Development and Louis CK blared on my television blocking out the unpleasantness of reality. Hug everybody a bit tighter this week and feel free to feed them a mason jar full of this soup.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Brazil Nut Pesto

Adapted from Heidi Swanson

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

3 TB clarified butter, ghee or olive oil (I used clarified grass-fed butter)

2 cloves garlic

1 TB red pepper flakes (start with a teaspoon or less if you are spice sensitive)

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1.5 lbs cauliflower or 1 giant(see above photo) cauliflower

5 cups stock or water (I used a very mild (under-seasoned) homemade beef bone stock, anything besides fish stock would work just fine)

1/3 cup heavy cream or cashew cream (recipe below)

Jacobsen Sea Salt or any other high quality salt

Brazil Nut Pesto

1/2 cup toasted Brazil nuts (just dry toast them in a pan on the stove – watch ‘em, they’ll burn quickly)

2 handfuls of spinach leaves, stemmed

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan (optional, but unless you have a severe issue with dairy don’t skip the cheese)

A generous pinch of Jacobsen Salt or any other high quality salt

Cashew Cream 

This stuff is dreamy, even if you opt to skip it for this soup, please make it one day. Also, it makes a TON – cashew cream for daaaaaaays.

1.5 cups raw cashews

1.5 cups water, plus more as needed

2.5 teaspoons of nutritional yeast

1.5 teaspoons of Jacobsen Salt or any other high quality salt

Squeeze of lemon juice

For the Soup: Heat the butter or oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 1-2 minutes (DON’T BURN THE GARLIC – seriously, that’s the only way you’ll ruin this recipe and all recipes that exist). When you start to smell the garlic, add the potato and cauliflower and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the stock of choice, bring to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender – it should take about 15-30 minutes). Remove from heat and puree thoroughly with an immersion blender or conventional blender. If you are using a regular blender, work in batches and be careful not to burn yourself. I used a Vitamix and it worked nicely – but I still went slowly and in batches.

For a silkier texture, push the soup through a sieve or strainer – I didn’t do this – too high maintenance for me – but if you’re fancy, knock yourself out.

Stir in the cashew cream or heavy cream. Ladle into individual bowls and finish with a big swirl of the pesto.

For the Cashew Cream: Soak the cashews in a small bowl of warm water for 20-30 minutes to soften them – don’t skip this step. Drain and add the 1.5 cups water, the nutritional yeast, and salt – toss this combination into a high powered blender (like a Vitamix), food processor, or a bowl hardy enough to stand up to a hand blender. Puree until smooth, pourable and cream-like. This might take 3-5 minutes of steady blending. You might need to add additional water to thin it out – add it one tablespoon at a time. This cream will thicken up in the fridge – so err on the thin side. Season the cream with a generous squeeze of lemon juice, then stir, taste and add more salt, if needed.

For the Pesto: Puree all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. If pureeing your pesto is difficult, add more olive oil, a tablespoon at a time. Taste and add more salt, if needed.