Purple Cauliflower Soup with Five Spice Seitan, Wax Beans

The farmer's market rewarded me with an array of beautiful produce that had me jumping at the chance to fill my bag up with one of everything. Purple produce has become my favorite aesthetically, regardless of the fact that flavor wise, there is really no difference. I knew that once I had my hands on the most beautiful head of purple cauliflower, I wanted to use it in a simple way, to keep the color intact as much as possible.
Can you believe the color of this soup?!

This brightly colored soup is lightly flavored to let the great cauliflower taste shine through. The addition of crisp seitan with homemade five spice powder adds a great punch of unexpected flavors like cinnamon and clove.

Purple Cauliflower Soup with Five Spice Seitan
2 canola oil
10 oz ground seitan
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sized walla walla, small dice
1 head purple cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbl vegan sour cream, plus more for garnish
15 green wax beans, ends trimmed

Saute the seitan, cinnamon, fennel, salt, pepper and cloves in canola oil in a medium pot until golden brown and slightly crispy. Transfer to a bowl and add extra virgin olive oil to the pot. Add the onions and cauliflower and season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is completely tender, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Bring back to the pot and reheat.
Add the lemon juice and sour cream and stir to combine. Taste and season with more
salt and pepper.
Blanch and shock the wax beans, slice in half lengthwise and serve with soup.