Brocciflower Soup
Brocciflower cheese is an old family favourite, but I can't say it is healthy due to the copious amounts of cheese & milk.
So this is a much more nutritious version, with a couple of cheats to still give it that cheesey depth.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or coconut oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1 head of broccoli, trimmed off the stalk & cut into chunks
- 1 small cauliflower, leaves & stalks trimmed & cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Optional—1 parmesan rind
- 1 tin of butter beans
- Fresh herbs—I used bay and sage
- Optional—1 veg stock cube
- Seasoning
- To serve—optional—scattered pine nuts & fresh sprouts
Method
- In your largest saucepan gently heat the oil.
- Add the onion, soften for 5 minutes, then add the celery & garlic. Fry gently for another 5 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, some seasoning, and the rest of the veg. You can throw in the broccoli & cauliflower leaves and stalks here for extra flavour.
- Pour over some hot water, how much depends on how thick you like your soup! Bring to a simmer.
- Add the fresh herbs (or use dried if you prefer), parmesan, and nutritional yeast.
- Simmer gently until the veg is soft—probably about 20 minutes.
- Fish out the stalks and leaves that you don’t want to whizz up, as well as the parmesan and any bay leaves you might have used.
- Add the beans, then whizz with a handblender. Add more water if too thick, if too watery you can continue to cook with the lid off to thicken.
- Serve with the optional toppings and enjoy!
Servings:
4-6
Ready In:
About an hour
Good For:
A cold winter's day
Health Benefits
Cauliflowers are a nutritious member of the brassica family, rich in Vitamins C as well as having plenty of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous & sulphur. It is the sulphur that can cause bloating and gassiness in some people, particularly when eaten raw.
Broccoli is full of nutrients, high in sulphur, iron & chlorophyll. An abundance of Vitamins A, B & C – (providing more vitamin C than oranges!). Well known for its anti-cancer properties due to the sulphoraphane which when released in the gut destroys carcinogenic substances such as those found in barbequed meat.
Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that we must get from food. Great for vegans. It contains many B vitamins, as well as zinc and selenium.
Beans & lentils— Great for the heart, steadying blood sugar levels, satiety levels and energy, fibre (happy guts). They high levels of polyphenols in the darker beans, and count as 1 of your 5 a day. High in folate, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, copper & iron.
