Broccoli Soup
I gotta say, I have never been a huge broccoli fan. But I’ve promised myself to never completely swear off any food whole sale; and I know broccoli is really good for me. So I’m always looking for recipes that transform the vegetable enough to increase its appeal, without overwhelming every notion of “healthy”, with cheese, fat, bacon, or any number of other flavor enhancers. An impossible challenge? No. I’m going to share one of my favorite broccoli options right here – my cream of broccoli soup recipe. Admittedly, there is a touch of bacon, and cream, but so little it doesn’t really count, and far from being “tolerable”, the soup is absolutely awesome. You can serve warm or cold, maybe garnished with some croutons and/or sour cream. It’s perfect. Hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Overview & Keys to Success
To make the best broccoli soup, just follow these few steps:
- Use low sodium chicken soup. If you don’t, your risk the soup getting too salty and you’ll lose any subtle flavors. Even better would be a homemade stock.
- Don’t cook the broccoli too long. Once it’s tender it’s time to bend the soup, and make sure you add some spinach at the last second, which helps keep the soup an attractive (rather than drab) green color
- I really like to use the bit of bacon and cream. You could leave it out, but I think they add additional layers of flavor and make the soup more complex, and interesting tasting
- Finally, taste as you go. You need to make sure you season along with way, and use the lemon and cream (in addition to salt/pepper) to tweak the flavor at the end of the process, until they pop – don’t just go by the measurements below
Ingredients for Broccoli Soup (for 4)
- 3 tablespoons pancetta, or 1 piece of thick slice bacon; diced
- 1 yellow onion – coarsely chopped
- 1 carrot coarsely chopped
- 1 celery rib coarsely chopped
- 2 - 3 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1.5 quarts of chicken stock
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream
- 1 - 2 cups of baby spinach
- Parmesan cheese
- 1 lemon
- Salt & pepper
Broccoli Soup
- Add about a teaspoon of olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat and add the pancetta
- Sauté until crisp
- Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt & pepper and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and translucent
- Add the chicken stock & the broccoli; the liquid should cover the vegetables by 1 – 2 inches; if not, add more stock or water
- One the broccoli has become tender, add the baby spinach, and stir it in. Cook for about 30 seconds
- Blend the soup with a stick blender, or in a blender (be careful with the hot liquids in a blender)
- Taste the soup
- Add a little squeeze of lemon juice, half the cream, and any salt and pepper based on your last taste. Stir and taste again
- Add more lemon, cream, salt or pepper as needed and you’re ready to go
- Serve with some crusty bread, garnished with a bit of grated parmesan cheese, or maybe some garlic croutons floated on top
Hope you enjoy it!!
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