A raw soup can be comforting: just blend it long enough for the blender to warm it through friction, until it feels warm or hot to the touch. Here, cauliflower and courgette form the base, cashews bring the creaminess, and nutritional yeast gives that savoury depth you expect from a veloute. The olive oil only goes in at the end, once blending is finished. Alongside, crackers made with almond okara — the pulp left over after making a plant milk — put a by-product to good use and give you something to dip. Count on about a dozen crackers per tray.
Raw Cauliflower Veloute and Almond Okara Crackers
Share this article
Nut milk bag
€4.10
Ingredients
The veloute
- 1 small cauliflower head, cut into small pieces
- 1 medium courgette, cut into small pieces
- 35 cl water
- 12 cl cashews, soaked 30 minutes if your blender isn't powerful
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves
- 2 red peppers, cut into pieces
- 1 small tomato or a large handful of cherry tomatoes
- 6 cl nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon maca (optional)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, added at the end
Almond okara crackers
- 1 cup packed almond okara
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds or ground flax
- 1 and a half tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon maca (optional)
Method
The veloute
- Put all the ingredients except the olive oil in a powerful blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add water if needed, one tablespoon at a time: the soup should stay thick.
- Adjust the seasoning, add the olive oil, then keep blending for a few more minutes until the soup is warm or hot.
- Serve with diced red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh coriander or dill.
The crackers
- Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until it forms a dough.
- Spread it by hand onto a non-stick dehydrator sheet, about 6 mm thick.
- Dehydrate for 3 hours at 45°C, then transfer the sheet, flipped over, onto a mesh tray.
- Score into the shape you want, about 5 cm per side.
- Continue for 6 to 8 hours, or more, depending on whether you want a soft or truly crunchy cracker.
Tip
It's the blending time that heats the soup, not a cooking appliance: allow several minutes at full speed after adding the oil, and check the temperature by placing your hand on the bowl.
The full range Small equipment
17 products
Discover the full range
FAQ: your questions about almond okara
What is almond okara?
Okara is what's left in the nut milk bag once the almond milk has been filtered: the pulp, mostly fibre, with a little protein and fat. This by-product was long thrown away, wrongly, because it makes a remarkable base for dough. Kept moist, it lasts two to three days in the fridge; dried at low temperature, it becomes a homemade almond flour that keeps for several weeks. In this recipe, it's what gives the crackers their structure.
How do you make almond milk at home?
Soak the almonds for four to eight hours in a large volume of water, then drain and discard the soaking water. Blend them with about three times their volume of fresh water for one to two minutes, until you get a good white liquid. Strain through a nut milk bag, pressing firmly, and set the pulp aside: that's your okara. The milk keeps for two to three days in the fridge and separates naturally, so just give it a shake.
Is it good to drink almond milk every day?
Unsweetened homemade almond milk is a simple, light drink, without the additives or added sugars found in many commercial versions. There's nothing wrong with drinking it every day, as long as you don't expect it to do what it can't: it contains very little protein and calcium compared to animal milk, unless it's fortified. Think of it as a pleasant everyday drink rather than an equivalent nutritional substitute.
Share this article