broccoli almond soup // vegan
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 1:49PM
I’m back.
Did you miss me? I sure did miss you.
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately. I love to travel. Love.
Over the past two weeks, we have visited both South America and the Southwest, US. What a contrast of cultures. We were in Argentina and Uruguay for some relaxation and new year’s eve fun. Then we headed to Phoenix, Arizona to visit my brother. Both are places I have wanted to visit for some time, and both are ones I hope to return to soon.
As much as I love to travel, I often dread what I am going to eat while in-transit. Usually the only choices are uber-processed meats, cheeses, and sodium enriched ... well, everything. Blech.
Needless to say, when I got home I was ready for some good, clean, healthy, veggie food. I was also ready to get myself back in the kitchen. It’s hard for me to not cook a single meal for more than a week.
The upside of this is that I have tons of time to brainstorm new dishes. I become totally re-inspired.
This soup was a result of that. When came home, and I was a cooking machine. A vegan cooking machine.
This soup contains a mega does of healthy vitamins and nutrients, while remaining hearty and satisfying. The almonds not only give it a boost in vitamin E, but they also give the soup a boosted creamy consistency and taste.
You may not know this yet but ... broccoli and almonds were totally meant to be together, just like peanut butter and jelly, rice and beans, beyoncé and jay-z.
This hearty soup will also help you stay on track with your new year's resolution to eat healthy food. You even may feel like you're cheating, but you're not. I know you haven't broken down just yet ;)
Broccoli Almond Soup
Makes
4-6 servings
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
3 clover of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil (or a another neutral tasting, high-heat oil)
2 heads of broccoli, chopped (tops and stems – approx 6 cups)
6 cups of water
½ cup of almond slivers
2 teaspoons of arrowroot
salt & pepper
optional garnish: a handful of toasted almonds & a drizzle of olive oil
Directions
- Sauté the garlic and onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes (until the garlic and onions are clear).
- Add the broccoli and stir to coat with the garlic and onions. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cook the broccoli for about 5-8 minutes and then add in the water.
- Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cover and cook for 10-15 minutes (until the broccoli is fork tender).
- While the soup is simmering, toast the almonds. In a small sauté or cast iron pan, heat up the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat and toast the almonds until the start to brown. Remove them from the heat, and set aside.
- Transfer the soup to a blender, add the toasted almonds and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches if you have a smaller blender.
- Give it a taste and see if you want to add more salt and pepper. I find it usually needs another generous helping of salt and pepper at this stage. Also, add in the arrowroot to thicken the soup. Blend again for another 20-30 seconds, until everything is blended well.
- I find that this soup is best served warm after it has been sitting for 20-30 minutes. It give it a little more time for the flavor to develop.
- If you like, toast up some more almonds and use them as a garnish along with a drizzle of really good olive oil.
Enjoy.
Reader Comments (5)
Making this today for my 13yr old son who has been sick for 4 days and is asking for broccoli soup! Will let you know how it goes.
This was delicious and a hit with my sick tiny teen! The thickness from the arrowroot really makes the soup. This is a keeper!
@alida - So sorry that your son is sick :( but so happy to hear that he liked the soup! It is amazing how thick and creamy this soup tastes without any cream.
Hey! I just made this for dinner - it was a little runny, maybe because I didn't have any arrowroot so I just went without. But despite that, it was actually quite delicious! Very moorish... we gobbled it up with a side of roast beets and some homemade flat bread. Thanks for posting!
@pamela - Glad to here you made the soup and liked it! (...despite it being a little runny!) The arrowroot is there to thicken it up ... you can use other thickeners such as cornstarch, however, arrowroot is a little better for us. PS - love your site!