Recipe for Quick and Tasty Broccoli Soup-Meatless Monday

What do you do when you have some sad looking veggies in the fridge?  Make soup of course!  I based this soup on the success I had with asparagus soup made from the discarded stems.  Super quick and easy, and with a chunk of crusty homemade bread, a perfect meatless Monday light supper.

That is one tired broccoli!

I wanted a little bit of a chunky soup but if you want a velvety smooth soup, cook the broccoli in the broth a lot longer and process it until it is smooth.  The chunky soup separates slightly when cooled but when reheated it comes back together nicely.

Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

·         1 medium head of broccoli, stems and florets chopped

·         3 cups vegetable broth

·         2 TBSP fresh thyme, chopped

·         1 TBSP olive oil

·         ½ cup chopped onion

·         1 ½ TBSP fat free half and half

·         1 tsp salt, plus more if needed

·         ½ tsp pepper, plus more if needed

·         Grated aged Parmesan cheese for serving

·         Optional: chunk of crusty bread for serving

Method:

·         Saute onion, broccoli stems, salt, pepper, and thyme in olive oil over medium heat for 7 minutes.

·         Add in broth and broccoli florets and simmer for 15 minutes (longer if you want a smooth puree).

·         Remove from heat and cool briefly then pour into food processor or blender.

·         Puree until well blended, about 30 seconds (longer for smoothest puree).

·         Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

·         Stir in half and half and serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a chunk of crusty bread.

This was really good with some homemade brown soda bread.  I'm perfecting the recipe to share with you, not there yet, although Mr. ELEB thinks it is great.  

What do you do with your tired veggies?  Oh, and Happy Halloween, hope you didn't eat too much candy!

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