Creamy Broccoli and Potato Soup
A lot of people have only had a close-up encounter with broccoli as raw crudités or boiled until it’s gray and limp, which is unappetizing and often difficult to digest. Here, sautéing the broccoli in olive oil, infusing it with broth, and then blending releases all of its sweetness and cancer-fighting properties and helps everything go down nice and easy.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and then the potatoes, along with a generous 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Sauté until the potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cut the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Trim and peel the stems and cut them into bite-size pieces as well. Pour in 1/2 cup of broth to deglaze the pan, turn down the heat to medium-low, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the broccoli and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until the broccoli is bright green and just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 3
Pour 2 cups of the remaining broth into a blender, add half of the broccoli mixture, and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a soup pot, then repeat the process with the remaining 2 cups broth and the remaining vegetables. Stir in the nutmeg.
Step 4
Gently reheat the soup over low heat, then do a FASS check. You may want to add additional salt, a grinding of pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Step 5
Serve garnished with a sprinkle of the cheese.
variation
Step 6
For even more yum, replace the sautéed garlic with roasted garlic. To roast garlic, preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut the top off a head of garlic, place it on a square of parchment paper, and drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the garlic. Wrap the garlic in the parchment paper and then in a slightly larger piece of aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. The aroma will tell you when it’s ready. Once the garlic is cool, squeeze the pulp out into a small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon when blending this soup, and refrigerate the remainder in an airtight container for later use. Roasted garlic makes a yummy addition to many savory dishes, especially Roasted Red Roma Tomato Soup (page 69), and Navy Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip (page 131).
storage
Step 7
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
nutrition information
Step 8
(per serving)
Step 9
Calories: 155
Step 10
Total Fat: 5.1g (0.8g saturated, 3.4g monounsaturated)
Step 11
Carbohydrates: 26g
Step 12
Protein: 4g
Step 13
Fiber: 4g
Step 14
Sodium: 330mg
WHO KNEW? The Best Offense Is a Good Defense
Step 15
Here’s a reason to eat organic that I bet you’ve never heard before: Compared to their commercially raised cousins, organics are natural-born fighters. And here’s the really cool part; they’re able to pass their survival skills on to those who eat them. Dr. Donald Abrams, director of integrative oncology at UCSF Medical Center, explains: “If a vegetable is grown indoors or in a hothouse, it doesn’t have to do anything to protect itself from its environment. Whereas if you grow, say, a tomato organically outdoors, it needs to protect itself from insects and other predators and from sunshine. So it produces chemicals to protect itself. And it turns out, for the most part, that those are the phytonutrients that are beneficial to people.” A little symbiotic survival: that’s what I call a win-win!
