What do you do when you find some sad looking, rubbery broccoli in the depths of your refrigerator? Me… I make soup. We’ve been eating out often lately due to our hectic schedule and I’ve been neglecting my crisper drawer in my fridge. Digging through, I found broccoli, zucchini, a little fresh basil and a few red peppers on the cusp of being inedible. So dinner was cream of broccoli and zucchini with roasted red pepper garnish. Contrary to popular belief, cream of broccoli need not be fat laden with tons of cheese. I finished the soup off with a little bit of half and half, but it was not really necessary. Too bad the parsley was well beyond salvage, because it would have made a nice fresh garnish… you can’t win ’em all!
Cream of Broccoli and Zucchini Soup
1 lb broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed and rough chop
4 c chicken stock (low sodium)
1/2 lb zucchini, cut into 1 inch rounds
3 tbsp basil, chopped
1/4 c half and half (optional)
salt
pepper1. Cut the broccoli florets into large (about 2 inch) pieces. Peel the stalk and cut into 1 inch pieces.
2. Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring often for another 2 minutes.
3. Carefully pour the chicken stock in and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the broccoli stalk, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the florets and simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Remove 1-2 florets to garnish the finished soup and set aside. Add the zucchini and simmer until everything is tender, another 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and very carefully, puree the hot soup, preferably with an immersion blender. If you do not have an immersion blender, use a regular one, but only fill 1/2 way, and do not seal the top when pureeing. Instead, cover with several layers of kitchen towels. Otherwise, you will spew hot soup around the kitchen! After the soup is smooth, add the basil and puree a little more to incorporate the basil into the soup. Stir in the half and half and check your seasonings. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
Makes 4-6 Servings
robin 8 YEARS AGO
I love that this soup doesn’t look too creamy, and that the half-and-half’s optional (though I’m sure a touch would be great!). Most broccoli soups tend to be too heavy for me. Thanks for the recipe. : )
VeggieGirl 8 YEARS AGO
Perfect usage of the vegetables!!
Chris @ Beyond Ramen 8 YEARS AGO
Thanks for the blending tips! Since I don’t have an immersion blender, if I were to make this soup I probably would have made those exact mistakes using my sad little blender. And given all these thrift-centric articles in food media nowadays, I think your message of salvaging produce is a great lesson to learn now more than ever.
ash 8 YEARS AGO
oh yum! this looks and sounds fabulous! gotta keep this in mind for some time when hubby isn’t around!
Lucy 8 YEARS AGO
Ooh I love broccoli but have never thought of making it into soup. Looks yummy!
dori 8 YEARS AGO
i’ve been promising my husband some cream of broccoli soup. great recipe!
i always make a veggie marinara sauce with all my “sad” veggies. mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, celery, carrot…it all goes in.
Alicia 8 YEARS AGO
Looks yummy! And about the parsley…well, you know how I feel about parsley as a garnish… Hahahaha!
My First Kitchen 8 YEARS AGO
We have identical crisper drawers. I know what I’m having for lunch today!
Treehouse Chef 8 YEARS AGO
Yum! this looks delicious! The photo is a work of art!
Kristine C 8 YEARS AGO
You can raid my fridge anytime!!!!
Aran 8 YEARS AGO
one of my favorites!
Elin 8 YEARS AGO
Thanks for sharing this yummy soup. Now I know what to do with the leftover brocolli in the fridge :)
Mrs Ergül 8 YEARS AGO
I love how this soup came about!
Mrs Ergül 8 YEARS AGO
this is fantastic soup! I made it on Sunday and did only a few changes! Thanks for sharing!
ShortOrderBlogger 8 YEARS AGO
Cool pictures
Sharon 8 YEARS AGO
This was great. I did find I need to add more cream (used a combo of cream and milk because I had no half-half on hand) than the recipe called for…then I added about a cup of “four-cheese, grated package”. It was delicious. Thanks!
Gasparzinha 8 YEARS AGO
I just love broccoli soup.
this one seems so creammy!
:)
Bazooka 8 YEARS AGO
I made this tonight and replaced the zucchini with asparagus because that’s what I had hanging around. Absolutely fantastic recipe, I’m going to delve into your archives for more gems. Thanks!