This Broccoli Soup is like a Warm hug in the cold Winter #262

Growing up in a Bengali household, we have never seen broccoli to be used in any dish. While cauliflower was prevalently used during winter season in our kitchen, broccoli remained to be that gross looking foreign vegetable. I used to call it “green cauliflower”!

Even in the tv I have seen kids tossing broccoli away from their plates like a demonic food! As I grew up and became a little more kind to the veggies- I finally tried it out in some continental dish. I still couldn’t see it to be consumed by us on an usual day.

Couple of years back a restaurant called me in to try out their newly created menu and review them. That was the first time I tried broccoli soup. Last winter, when we all were spending time together in lockdown – I asked my mom to make broccoli soup. But since she has never tried the dish herself it was my responsibility to find out the recipe for her.

We tried couple of recipes from YouTube and tweaked a thing or two according to our taste. This is the final recipe that we all liked. Creamy and nutty flavor from the white sauce and freshness from the broccoli make this soup so much special. Sharing some tips from the experience of trying to make it as well.

Things you need

1. Broccoli florets chopped in small pieces
2. 1/2 piece of onion- finely chopped
3. 8-12 cashew nuts (optional)
4. 2 cloves of garlic- finely chopped
5. 1 tsp flour
6. 3 tsp butter
7. 1/2 litre milk
8. 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
9. 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
10. 1/8 tsp black pepper
11. 1/8 tsp oregano
12. Pinch of salt

Preparation

• There’s no prepping for this dish!

Procedure

1. Chop the broccoli florets into small pieces and wash them thoroughly
2. Heat a pan with 2 tsp butter in it. Fry the onion and garlic in the butter and gently pour 1 cup of water into the pan.
3. Throw in the broccoli pieces with the pinch of salt. Cashew nuts can be added too. Boil them half way through and let it cool.
4. Blend it smooth in a food processor.
5. Thicken 500 ml. Milk in a pan and keep it aside
6. In a different pan roast 1 tbsp flour in 1 tsp butter. Slowly add the milk and keep on stirring on low flame until it becomes like white sauce
7. Add the blended broccoli to the white sauce, add the cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, pepper, oregano and salt.
8. Creamy broccoli soup is ready! Garnish with some stir-fried broccoli florets or some cashew nuts on top.

Tip 1 : The broccoli soup in the picture doesn’t really have that dark green color- there are few reasons we could think of. We used some of the stem part on this particular day, which doesn’t really have the vibrant green color. It also lacks in taste- so better not to use it. Adding too much white sauce can lighten the color too. And sometimes the florets turn yellowish if not fresh.

Tip 2 : Make sure the broccoli has cooled down enough before blending it. We have painted our ceilings green with broccoli juice by putting steaming hot broccoli into the food proccesor once!

Personally I liked some stir fried broccolis with it, adding an element of crunch to it. You can totally skip it of that’s not your preference.

Hope you liked this recipe, if yes, make sure make it at home and share your thoughts in the comments.

Also check out my other posts-

• Daily blogs,
• Cooking recipes,
• Movie and Book Review

Another recipe with Broccoli-

Healthy Mixed Vegetables Recipe : Winter Edition