This winter has been hard. After coming back from 2 weeks of vacation from California, this was definitely not what I was looking forward to, but life has to go on and vacation has to end. Also, I wanted to get back to my Keto lifestyle after such a long break. San Francisco is both mine and my husband’s favorite city and the reason is the availability of such vast and delicious variety of different cuisines. We indulged every day without fail, be it a luscious seafood Risotto in Little Italy or some steaming dim sum in China town. So it was time to get back to reality.

Since we were gone for a fortnight and the refrigerator was completely empty, we had to brave the chills and go to the grocery store the next day. I bought a bunch of swiss-chard in hopes of making a lentil soup only to come home and discover that I was out of lentil too. However, not everything was a loss. I had all the ingredients to make a pot of Zuppa Toscana; in fact, a keto version of it. To my surprise it turned out so good that I have decided that everyone who follows a keto lifestyle should give this amazing soup a try. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Anyways, here is the recipe…

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely minced

4 sliced of bacon chopped

3 cups of cauliflower florets

4 cups of Swiss chard (cleaned and chopped)

4 cups of chicken broth

½ cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons of grated parmesan

• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sauté the bacon on medium heat in a pot or dutch oven until the bacon starts to brown.
• In the same pot, add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes.
• Next add the cauliflower and Swiss card along with the broth.
• Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat.
• Add the cream, parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

For past few days it feels like Fall and I love having soups and stews during this time of the year through winter. Snuggled up on the couch and having a hot bowl of soup while watching Netflix is the perfect dinner after a long hard day. Cooking this soup is extremely simple and all I need to clean up is one single pot! Now, that is always a bonus. This cauliflower soup is creamy, luscious, comforting and can easily be altered into a vegan recipe.

Ingredients:

6 cups of cauliflower florets roughly chopped

6 cloves of whole garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4^th cup heavy cream

1/4^th shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a heavy bottom pan heat olive oil and add the garlic and onion till they start to develop color.

Add the cauliflower, Parsley flakes and chili flakes and keep stirring on a medium high heat till the cauliflower starts to brown (you may notice some liquid initially but that will eventually evaporate). This process takes around 15-20 minutes. At this stage the cauliflower will be almost cooked.

Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, cheese, stir the mixture and bring to a simmer.

Turn off the heat and blend the mixture until smooth or until you achieve the desired texture. (I like mine a bit chunky).

Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.