Ingredients
- This is a great way to get green veg into the kids. Everyone loves soup, right? It’s fabulous on chilly winter nights and can be eaten cold in the height of summer. Roasting the broccoli in butter gives it an unbelievable taste. This is a thick, filling and totally morish soup.
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 large head broccoli, chopped into florets
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (sometimes I use 2–4 teaspoons)
- 2 cups home-made stock – make sure it’s quite thick and the flavours are intense
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (depending on how much you love cream)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (you can use more)
- Salt and pepper
- Optional: 1 chorizo sausage of good quality, pre-cooked and kept warm
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
- Place the melted butter in a big bowl.
- Now add the chopped broccoli, mix it all together and make sure it’s fully covered with the butter.
- Arrange all the florets on a baking sheet and bake for around 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked. Don’t let it burn – if it has been cut into small florets, you will need to bake this for a much shorter time.
- Place a pan onto medium heat, add some butter (you could also use olive oil or duck fat) and sauté the onion until tender and slightly transparent.
- Add the garlic and thyme to the pan and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the stock and broccoli, bring to a simmer and leave for 15 minutes to simmer well, covered. Simmer for less time if the broccoli is relatively well done from the oven. Remove from the heat.
- Mix in the cream, cheese, mustard powder, salt and pepper and stir this in well.
- Now purée the mixture with a stick blender, or in a blender or food processor.
- Cut thin slices of chorizo into the soup and serve immediately. This soup is so filling, though, that you probably won’t need the sausage. You can add a sprinkle of extra Parmesan, a swirl of cream and a few little thyme sprigs to garnish.
To serve
- Stir a flat tablespoon of mustard into the soup for a wonderful flavour, if the kids don’t mind.
- If you don’t want chorizo, use strips of crispy bacon to garnish the soup.
