Edited on 12th February 2021
Winter wonder. Oh how I love winters. Nature just gives us bountiful of veggies. It's a treat to visit the vegetable market. You can see a riot of colors. It is so soul satisfying.
Since my husband and I like to have a light dinner, winter nights are mostly soups with home made breads.
Broccoli Almond Soup is family favourite. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe quite a bit. Sharing the edited version now.
It's always good to use stock instead of plain water in your soups. It adds more flavour. You can either make fresh stock or use a stock cube. I prefer to make stock powder at home. You can check out the recipe here. I add 1 tsp of this stock powder to the required quantity of water to get stock.
We enjoy our soup with home made bread.
Topping ideas
Toasted seeds of your choice.
Crispy fried Basil leaves and garlic slivers
A teaspoon of pesto.
Sometimes I add coconut milk to change the taste slightly.
To do so, reduce the stock quantity by half a cup.
After pureeing the soup, bring it to a boil, lower the heat and add coconut milk to get desired consistency of the soup. Approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup.
Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Ingredients
Broccoli 175 gms
Almond 12
Stock. 2 cups
Salt to taste
Pepper powder to taste
Garlic 2 large cloves finely chopped
Onion 1 medium finely chopped
Celery 1 stem finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil 1tbsp
Pickled Jalapeno 1(optional)
Extras
Chilli oil or butter
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Method.
Soak Almonds over night.
Peel the skin and chop them finely.
Chop broccoli florets and tender stem.
Wash them thoroughly and keep in a colander to drain off excess waywr
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan.
Saute chopped garlic and onions.
Once onions turn soft add celery.
Saute for a few minutes.
Tip in broccoli stir to coat it completely with oil.
Saute for a couple of minutes.
Now add peeled almonds , pickled jalapeno , 1 tsp salt and stock.
Bring it to a boil and then cover the pan and let it simmer till broccoli is tender.
Let it cool completely .
Transfer the contents into a blender and blend to get smooth creamy puree.
Pour it back into the pan.
Add water to get desired consistency. I used 1/4 cup.
Bring it to a boil.
Add freshly crushed pepper.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Garnish with toasted seeds for crunch.
Serve hot with a small cube of butter or chilli oil.