As the forecast temperatures begin to drop, the inevitable is near and clear – summer is passing, and fall is quickly approaching!
While the season notoriously known for ice-cream, cold drinks on the beach and patios is coming to an end, we’ve prepared a simple, yet exceptionally flavourful warm recipe that will impress your family and guests alike. Besides pumpkin-spice lattes, what never falls out of trend is a warm and delicious bowl of hearty soup that is packed with nutrients.
Servings: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 broccoli crowns
- 2 zucchinis
- 1 whole white onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp of salt
- Cooking oil of your choice
- Optional: sour cream, cilantro, or crushed walnuts for garnish
Instructions
- Boil water in a medium sized pot; add two tablespoons of salt to the water and mix well.
- Wash your broccoli crowns and zucchinis.
- Cut the broccoli crowns into manageable pieces that will fit into your blender after all the cooking is done.
- Slice and dice the zucchini into cubes -- be sure to remove the ends first!
- While the water is boiling, peel the white onion skin and cut it in half parallel to its root. By cutting the onion in this way, the tear-inducing effects are greatly diminished. Begin to mince both halved onions into fine pieces, and avoid cutting the root part of the onion.
- Cut the ends of each clove of garlic, then flatten separately and mince into fine pieces.
- Once the water reaches boiling temperature, add the pre-cut broccoli crowns into the salted water pot and let it simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
Note: The goal is to have the broccoli soften for the blender. The 5-minute timer is just a guideline. Periodically check if you need to take out the broccoli sooner or later by using a paring knife. To check, push the paring knife into the broccoli’s stem without any slicing motion; if the knife can cut through the stem solely by pushing the knife straight through, it’s ready – if not, wait a little longer and recheck using this method. - While the broccoli is softening, heat a medium size saucepan on medium heat with cooking oil of your choice and add the minced onions, garlic, and chopped zucchini to sauté them.
- Sauté the onions, garlic, and zucchini until the onions are translucent and the garlic and zucchini are golden in colour.
- Once the boiled broccoli pieces are ready, transfer the broccoli and 1 cup of the salted broccoli water into the blender.
- Transfer the sautéed onions, garlic, and zucchini into the blender as well.
- Blend all the transferred ingredients until a smooth puree consistency is created.
- Pour into a soup bowl. Optionally, you can garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream, cilantro, or crushed walnuts.
Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!