I found this recipe for
"Creamy Broccoli Lentil Soup" on epicurious.com. The changes I made are in
blue.
Ingredients:
1 ½ tbsp (22.5 mL) extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp (10 mL) crushed garlic (
3 cloves minced)
¾ cup (85 mL) chopped onion (
closer to 1 c... about 1/2 a large yellow onion)
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) dried basil
3 cups (750 mL) chopped broccoli (1 large head)
¾ cup (85 mL) dried green lentils
4 cups (1 L) low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp (30 mL) parmesan cheese, grated (
2 tsp)
Optional: 2 green onions, chopped (for garnish)
Prep:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Add the carrots, celery and basil and cook for a few more minutes until the spices coat them nicely.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour covered, covered.
6. Using a wand blender, puree till smooth. Garnish with green onions if desired.
Makes three 2 cup (500 mL) servings. Freeze some portions for workdays on the run.
*****************
This soup is delicious. It ended up a lot thicker than I expected, perhaps I left too much of the stalks on the broccoli, but why waste perfectly good broccoli? I tried using a hand mixer because I don't own a wand blender, and it was still too chunky for my texture-finicky children. So I pulled out the handy ninja blender and pureed it, adding about 2 more cups of water, then returning it to heat some more on the stove. I think fresh basil would be even better than the dried. We ate our soup with some oyster crackers, and my 3 1/2 year old apparently mistook it for "guacamole soup." Nope, sorry son, it wasn't guacamole. (At least he liked it!) It reminded me of a very rich split pea soup without the ham flavor.
