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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Simple satisfying soup


There's nothing better than a bowl of soup to get you through a period of ill health. When the man came home from day surgery a couple of weeks ago I wanted to have a pot of soup ready for him as I had a feeling that his appetite would be diminished. I figured if there was a pot of soup around he may be persuaded to try some. I didn't have the time or inclination to look up recipes, instead I pulled vegetables out of the fridge and decided to make a simple soup based on broccoli as it's one of his favourite vegetables.

The soup turned out to be really lovely and the two of us polished it off in a couple of days. As I forgot to take a photo at the time, I had to make it again. It's a very simple recipe which takes about 10 minutes of preparation, 25 minutes of cooking and a few minutes at the end to blend it into a thick smooth delicious soup. Like most of my other blended soups, I included some red lentils for extra protein and to thicken it up.

I wasn't quite sure if the soup would be flavoursome enough initially and stirred some basil pesto into my bowl, honestly it tasted so much better without it. I love it with a shake or two of white pepper and think that's all it really needs. A mild tasting herb like parsley could also be a nice garnish.

Broccoli soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup red lentils
4 cups vegetable stock
2 medium (300g) potatoes, peeled and diced
2 heads (600g) broccoli, stalks and florets roughly chopped
salt and black or white pepper, to taste
fresh parsley chopped, for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a stockpot and fry the onions over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir through the garlic for a minute then add the lentils, stock, potatoes and broccoli. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and process in batches until smooth. Pour back into the stockpot and reheat gently. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

8 comments:

  1. I am impressed that your partner likes broccoli, as I don't know many males who do! With that said, this soup sounds wonderful and I suspect it could appeal to broccoli and non-broccoli lovers alike. With the lentils, onions and garlic, I can definitely believe that it had enough flavour. I hope it served its purpose and everyone is feeling very well indeed now!

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    1. Hmmm, I don't know of any males that dislike broccoli so it's interesting that the males in your life are opposed to it. I'm not sure that this soup would appeal to non-broccoli lovers although you could try it out if you felt daring! ;) Everyone is fighting fit around here again now, thanks Kari.

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  2. I can eat soup at any time of year and it always comforts and nourishes - love this one - must keep it up my sleeve as it is exactly the sort of ingredients I love having around the house

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    1. I've always been a huge lover of soup too although it doesn't really appeal to me in our summer heat. I'm loving having a batch of soup in the fridge at all times right now as it warms you up so much in this weather.

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  3. Yummy. It's currently really cold here (I *know*, it's relative), so I'm making a chunky hearty veggie & lentil soup. Next time I think I'll have to do a smooth soup like this one!

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    1. Just wait until you feel the real cold down here! ;) It's about time I made a chunky veggie and lentil soup, thanks for the reminder as I haven't made one like that for ages.

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  4. Sometimes nothing beats a simple soup! Aren't red lentils great for thickening a soup? They add so much oomph and body while otherwise being nearly undetectable.

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    1. I agree, nothing beats a warm mug of simple soup for lunch in the middle of winter. Red lentils have become a mandatory inclusion for my smooth soups these days, they do the most wonderful job in thickening them up and I'm not so much a fan of thinner soups.

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