Wanna hear a hot tip on how to make Cream of Broccoli Soup creamier, and healthier all at the same time!? When I figured this out I could not wait to shout it from the roof tops! The big secret is using pureed White Beans in the soup versus cream, yogurt or milk. And this adds so much flavor as well. The recipe is a simple one pot meal, and easy to whip together. Perfect any time of year, served hot or cold! You will have to try it and see for yourself!!! ;)
Ingredients~
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 diced Onion
1 Tablespoon chopped Garlic
2-3 cleaned, trimmed, diced Carrots (more or less to taste)
1 head cleaned, trimmed, diced Celery (more or less to taste)
1 diced Red Bell Pepper
Dash Cayenne Pepper (optional)
4-6 cups Broth
1-2 pounds diced fresh Broccoli, as desired
1 or 2 drained cans White Beans (or make your own from dried: soak overnight in water, drain, and add fresh water a couple inches above beans, simmer for two hours and drain)
Seasoning as desired
Add Oil, Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Celery to large stock pot til Onions are lightly brown, then add Bell Pepper and Cayenne til Peppers are softened. Add Broth, Broccoli and Beans and bring to simmer til Broccoli has softened. Either use a potato smasher, immersion blender, beaters or remove to blender to blend to desired level of smooth. We like a more textured soup so I just used a potato masher, and removed part of the batch to whip smooth in the blender and stir back in. Season as desired. Enjoy :)
