broccoli soup and ad hoc croutons

dive in

Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s speech on TED.  I have made a simple soup that anyone can make for a quick healthy meal with only a couple ingredients and a few minutes.  It would even make a great substitute for your green beer on St. Patty’s Day.  Green beer, by the way, is a bad idea.  If your beer is bad enough to add food coloring it probably shouldn’t be drunk anyway.  Do the right thing and grab a Guinness instead!

This soup is one of the most requested by my family, which suits me fine as it is one of the fastest and easiest to make.  Who couldn’t use a little more broccoli in their diet?  I love that everyone fights over the leftovers for their lunch the next day, especially if there are homemade croutons or a grilled cheese.  In a recent conversation with a certain sixth grade teacher, she mentioned that she eats grilled cheese for dinner every day.  You won’t catch me dis the glories of the grilled cheese sandwich, but consuming it daily is not going to do a body good, or your brain. You are what you eat.  I was just a little taken aback by her reason.  “Because it tastes good,”  in her little kid voice, is the response that you expect from a 12 year old, not of the teacher in the classroom.  She was also teaching them about being healthy and nutrition.  Scary huh.

I try to buy broccoli with the stems on, not just the crowns.  Usually only the organic variety still has the stems attached, the conventional variety only seems to come in “crowns” around these parts.  Broccoli is not one of the dirty dozen so buy the freshest, that is the most important.  I remember my grandmother peeling the stems and cutting them up for us to snack on while she made dinner.  Clever woman!  Just peel the tough skin away and slice into bite sized pieces.

I use the stems in almost all preparations for this cruciferous antioxidant giant.  Broccoli and other cruciferous or brassicas are a family of vegetables known to have positive benefits in guarding against cancers besides being full of vitamins and minerals.  If you are unaware of the benefits of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussels sprouts, etc. go check it out!  What do you think they made google for?

Croutons!  Thomas Keller is my hero.  He is the only American born chef to have earned Michelin Stars, and I love him so.  In his new book Ad Hoc at Home, based on his concept restaurant, ad hoc, that serves prix fixe, 4 course, family style meals, just like at home, well almost.  I love his idea of breaking the bread into chunks instead of cutting it into cubes.  This gives so much more surface area to get crisp and chewy.  I do not take the crust off, leave it on it adds so much more to the bite.

Simple Broccoli Soup

serves 4+ bowls or 8 smaller portions

• 1 lb (500g) broccoli, with stems if you can find it that way
• 1 ltr (1 qt or 4 cups) chicken stock, veggie stock, or water
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp oil such as canola or grapeseed
• 1 Tbsp all purpose flour (cornstarch/potato starch to make it gluten-free)
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Clean and cut the broccoli into pieces of equal size.  Add to a large pot and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan by a 1/2 inch.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the broccoli, cover and set on the stove to steam.  It should take no more than 10 minutes for a sharp knife to pierce the broccoli.  Pour the broccoli and it’s cooking water into a bowl.

Set the pan back on the stove and let the moisture evaporate for a moment.  Over moderate heat add a Tbsp of oil to the pan, then the onion and garlic.  Allow the onion to soften and become translucent.  Watch it carefully as burnt onion or garlic will ruin your soup. When the onion is translucent add a Tbsp of flour to the pan, stir to combine and allow to cook for a minute or two, do not let it brown.  Add the stock slowly, whisking until the flour is completely blended into the broth.  Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer, add the broccoli and reserved cooking liquid.  Cook until hot.

Using an immersion or stick blender, blend it up.  A regular blender works well too, actually it works better, so for a smoother soup use a standard bender. Just be sure to blend in batches as hot soup can become volatile.  I for one am not much for cleaning soup off the ceiling, or my face for that matter,  be sure to exercise caution and hold a towel over the blender lid while whizzing!  If you do not have anything to blend the soup, it would be just as delicious chunky.

♣ OPTIONAL: Make it cheesy by adding some sharp cheddar or your favorite cheese.  It is my opinion that anything less than a strong, extra-sharp farmhouse cheddar would not be noticeable enough to warrant adding it   If you are looking for a silkier soup add some cream, it is really not necessary but it would make for a richer soup.  Add last and heat through before serving.  I would add between a half cup and a whole cup until you get the desired consistency.  Cheese should also be added at the last minute, after removing from the heat.

crunchy, chewy crusty bread chunks to float in your soup

For the crouton recipe, check out Thomas Keller’s ad hoc at home cookbook or a bazillion other places on the web, Sarah put together an amazing catalog of them, at The Delicious Life.

video interview with Thomas Keller about the book click here,  NPR has an interview with him here.  After listening to him speak and talk about his humble upbringing and his relationship with food you cannot help but love him even more.

Tagged as: broccoli, healthy, quick, vegan, vegetarian