Broccoli Soup

When I was a kid, I never liked vegetables. I refused to eat any food containing vegetables. My mum always had a hard time feeding me vegetables, especially the leafy types; it seemed to stick in my throat, not going in or out. If I accidentally ate any (as mum hid it, i.e. in between chicken, or rice, etc) and I got to feel it in my mouth , I would pinch my skin at the throat area and drink water immediately. The whole idea was that the water would ease the swallowing process of the vegetables, down into my stomach without me having to chew it. Silly eh 😉

But all that has changed as I grow older. I think salads are beautiful with a fresh kind of look when they are well plated. And because of that, slowly, I started to learn to eat vegetables, yet very selectively! Moreover, my mum and her four other sisters are vegetarians. Not that she wants me to be a vegetarian, but I admire the way she accomodates veggies in her daily diet.

As I explored more on adding vegetables to my daily intake, I discovered the idea of turning them into drinks, or soup. I’ve never tried the drinks tho’, but soup, yes ! This way, its much more ‘edible’ to me, plus the fact that I can alter the taste too !

I came across a recipe for broccoli soup almost 10 years ago, when I was still new to cooking and eating vegetables. Back then, I cooked for the sake of adventure, new recipes and all that. However, I immediately fell in love with the broccoli soup on my very first sip and it has been my favourite ever since.

I have cooked this broccoli soup with many different ingredient combinations and happily settled with this one.

Broccoli Soup

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50gm yellow onion (one medium size) - cubed
60gm leek (one stick) - white part only, sliced
200gm potato (two medium size) - cubed
500gm broccoli - cut into florets
Three cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
One Litre chicken or vegetable stock / water 
knob of butter
Cheddar cheese - grated
Salt & Pepper

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Melt butter in a medium heat pot.
Fry onion for two minutes.
Add in leeks, sauté for five minutes,
followed by garlic, fry until golden yellowish.
Toss in potatoes, cover pot and allow to sweat for 5 minutes.
Pour in the stock or water, bring to the boil.
Once you see the boiling bubbles, bring down the heat, 
cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
Finally, add the broccoli, cook for two minutes, 
and turn off the heat - allow to cool.
*This is to preserve the green colour* 
**broccoli will get soft in the hot stock**
Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Then, bring back to low heat and season well.
Stir in grated cheese until just melted and serve.
***The soup will get thicker as the cheese melts***

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Serving suggestion:

Reserve some broccoli florets for garnishing.
The cheddar cheese can be replaced with any of your favourites, 
i.e. Stilton, as the original recipe called for.

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Storing suggestion: 

This recipe yields for 4 persons.
If you cannot finish it all in one go,  
it is suitable for freezing and keeps up to 3 months.
If so, after you blend it, do not bring
back to the heat and add the cheese.
Just leave to completely cool before transferring to a container.
Portion the soup for later use, 
makes life easier!

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p/s: This recipe is suitable for vegetarians too.
Use olive oil instead of butter, 
and skip the cheese. 

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When I first made this soup, I didn’t have a blender. So, I pushed it through a sieve. I tell you, it was a hard work ! Nevertheless, worth the effort 😉

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