I got some broccoli from the farmers market at La Cigale a few weeks ago. They’re awesome because they come with the stems and leaves that are often chopped off before you buy the broccoli – what a waste! The stems provide slightly more calcium, iron and vitamin c than the florets do – so definitely don’t get rid of these – turn them into yummy soup and just chuck in a few of the florets for extra colour. The stems freeze really well, so I’ll often stash a few in the freezer until I have enough to make a big batch of soup. I usually use 3-4 stems from a regular grocery store bought broccoli and half a head of florets or less.
This is what I prepared from the two broccoli that I got from La Cigale market. Such great stems and leaves for soup! What a bargain! I kept the actual heads for steaming and stir fry and froze the stems and leaves.
So here is my broccoli soup recipe – gratefully inspired by All Recipes and a few leftovers that needed to be used from the fridge (we had half a tin of coconut cream that needed to be used and the cheese was getting to the end of its life)! Soup is such a great way to use up food items that would otherwise be close to being binned, composted or tipped down the drain. Your best friend for soup making will be a handy stick blender! Soup is so handy to freeze for emergency lunches or dinners. This recipe makes about 6 serves of soup so is a great budget friendly winter meal!
Ingredients
- 2 heads of broccoli – or alternatively, do what I do and collect the leftover stems, stalks and leaves of broccoli and pop them in the freezer until you have about 4 cups worth and then add a few florets to the mix was well.
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 medium potato or kumara, peeled and chopped into large pieces
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- About 200ml of coconut milk or coconut cream. This is totally to taste so add more or less depending on what you like.
- 4 cups of stock (I prefer chicken but you can use veggie too of course!)
- About a cup of grated cheese – I used edam
- Seasoning to taste – I add salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of nutmeg.
Yep, once the onion and garlic are cooked, I literally just chuck everything in the pot and simmer it away until it’s tender!
Instructions
- Lightly fry the onion in a bit of olive or vegetable oil until it’s getting translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add the broccoli, stock and potato or kumara, give it a good stir and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are nice and tender.
- Remove from the heat and use your stick blender blend the soup until it’s, well, nice and soupy!
- Add the coconut milk or cream and cheese and stir well. If you’d like a runnier soup, feel free to add extra liquid in the form of water, stock or more coconut milk/cream. Be cautious not to use too much coconut milk or cream or you’ll end up with a very dominant coconut flavour.
- Bring back to the boil, adding your seasoning of salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste.
- Remove from the heat and serve with some bread or toast!
One super yummy and super cheap broccoli soup!
I’d love your feedback on whether you enjoyed this recipe or if you have any go to recipes for helping to reduce kitchen waste!
