Creamy Leek and Broccoli Soup

” Beautiful soup, so rich and green.  Waiting in a hot tureen.  Who for such dainties would not stoop? Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!”  Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

In honor of National Soup Week in the US, the soup pot has been bubbling with some delicious concoctions.   It’s no coincidence that soup and winter months go hand and hand. Soup is an easy way to boost nutrition to keep us healthy through cold and flu season.  After attending a lecture on nutrition by Jolene Hart, the author of Eat Pretty:  Nutrition and Beauty, Inside and Out(visit her site here ), I set out to create a super soup, loaded with nutritional goodness that was soulful and satisfying.  Served in a hollowed out bread bowl it was substantial and a meal in itself.

(If you don’t want to read about the nutritional content of this soup, just go straight to the recipe, below).Broccoli we all know is a great anti Inflammatory vegetable, low cal, high in vitamin A, C and K and a good source of calcium and potassium. Broccoli is also high in phytochemicals which are known to lower estrogen sensitive cancers like breast, ovarian and cervical. A whopping 8 cups are in this delectable soup! Leeks, onions and chives are rich in glutathione, a mega anti oxidant. This soup features all 3!  Good omega 3 fats come from olive oil, truffle oil and tahini paste. For a dose of vitamin B, garlic adds flavor and a boost in anti inflammation..  Lemon is one of my kitchen’s staples for flavor while its bioflavanoids help fight cancer.  Thyme brings flavor with a side kick of anti oxidant and anti inflammation.  My friend Sarah shared her family’s healthy substitute for cream, tofu, and I tried it in this recipe. The  soup was creamy and thick without any added unhealthy fats.  Tofu is a good source of protein and calcium.  For a final nutritional boost, cayenne was used to add a bit of spice and another shot of anti inflamation and the soup was drizzled with white truffle oil, a good fat with some of the health benefits of mushrooms!  We added all kinds of delicous toppings to make this a really special meal-in-a- bowl.  SOUP=LOVE!

• Servings: Makes a huge pot
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Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 onion and 1 leek, chopped

8 c of broccoli florets

6 c of homemade chicken stock

1 t dired thyme

2 heaping T of  tahini paste

1 cup of silken firm tofu, diced

Juice and zest of 1 Meyer lemon(can use regular lemon)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne

Toppings:  chopped chives, white truffle oil, reserved lemon zest, feta crumbles

small round loaves of bread to serve soup in, if desired

Method:

Cook onions and leeks in the oil on medium heat.  Add broccoli florets and brown a few minutes. Add broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for an hour.  Add the tahini, tofu, salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice.  Purée in a blender or food processor until very smooth. When ready to serve, cut tops off the loaves of bread, scoop out some dough to create bowls and laddle soup into each.  Top with a drizzle of truffle oil, some chopped chives, some crumbled feta and some of the lemon zest.  SOOOOO good and good for you!

 

” A soup like this is not the work of one man.  It is the result of constantly refined tradition.  There are nearly a thousand years of history in this soup.”  Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop