A broccoli soup, in many ways – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

Today I want to tell you about a recipe for broccoli soup …

The soup is wonderful for many reasons: it’s vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free; it comes together fast enough to justify doing it too lunch; it can be a single pot if you have an immersion blender; uses complete broccoli stalk, not just its flowers (not in vain!); and best of all, it’s an endless riff theme. Like, almost a mistake.

What I like most about it is the way I make it for lunch: plain yogurt and crispy fried onions. (You know these cans Do they sell at Trader Joe’s? Never go after them!) But I wouldn’t complain if this soup was sprinkled with crispy chili or chilli or sprinkled with coconut milk or pesto or heavy cream. Either croutons or parm with shaved or chopped herbs (basil? Dill? With chives?) Or corn chips or crème fraîche or sunflower seeds. Or if you were thinking of beating smoked miso or paprika or some ginger on the way.

And I know I’m risking the very real problem of paralysis chosen here, but you can also use this template for so many vegetables: change broccoli with pumpkin, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, even cabbage.

Which direction would you take?

Broccoli soup puree
Adding extra olive oil at the end (obviously) makes the soup more velvety and sweeter, but you can skip that if you’re looking for something lighter. It makes 4 small portions or 3 large portions.

2 tablespoons olive oil + 1/4 olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 pound broccoli, flowers and stalks (cut the stems from the stems with a knife or peeled vegetable)
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook onions until soft, then add broccoli and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook the broccoli until very soft, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add another 1/4 cup olive oil and the puree soup using a blender until silky and smooth. (If you are using a regular blender: remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add 1/4 olive oil and puree until smooth and silky in the blender. Make sure the lid is open so that there is some steam. Return the soup to the pot and heat if necessary.)

At this point you can choose your adventure:

• Top with grated Parm, croutons and chives
• Add crispy onions and sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• Top with grated cheddar, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips
• Top with crispy chili or a drizzle of chilli oil
• Stir in a tablespoon of sweet white miso (perhaps thinning it with a little warm water to distribute it further) and a teaspoon of soy sauce.
• Stir in the onion curry paste, then finish with a drizzle of coconut milk and a pinch of lemon.

PS Soup with friends and Dorie Greenspan’s one-size-fits-all “cake”.