Green Soup

I don't know why but I've suddenly had my fill of broccoli. I must have eaten tons of it in the past, but without realising had gradually stopped buying it. That was until some came in my organic veg box. I could have asked them to substitute something else, but it is seasonal and full of folic acid which is supposed to be good for you, so I didn't.

But I didn't use it when it first arrived and was lovely and green and crunchy. Then, I put it out of the way in the fridge to keep for another day. I forgot about it, and it lost it's lovely vivid colour and started to get a little bit yellow...but I was determined not to throw it away. Eventually I pulled my socks up and decided to do something with it.

Broccoli soup? It always looks nice and sounds good on lunch menus in little country cafes, especially after a long walk on a cold winter day. But my broccoli was so yellow that I decided to try and put the green back by adding all the other green vegetables I had left. Which wasn't very many. But they say that 'less is more' and the result was a really tasty soup.

To make my Green Soup to serve two people you will need:

• one leek
• one small green bell pepper
• one large head of broccoli (preferably green!)
• a cup of frozen peas
• a few sage leaves
• sea salt and black pepper
• two cloves of garlic
• a little olive oil to saute

To Make:

• Simply wash and chop up the leeks, peppers, broccoli and sage leaves then saute in a little olive oil in a heavy based saucepan.
• Season with sea salt and plenty of black pepper and cover with boiling water.

• Drop two cloves of garlic - 'en chemise (literally with a shirt on') ie. with the papery skin on, into the pan. Cooked this way the garlic is steamed in it's own little packet and gets sweet and caramely and milder than when fried. I didn't want any strong flavours just a lovely gently herby soup.
• When all the vegetables are just about tender add the frozen peas and cook for a couple more minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Fish out the garlic cloves and squeeze out the soft pulp into the soup, discarding the skins.
• Blend the soup and serve.

I'm not usually a great fan of blended soups except for carrot and coriander but I think in this case it works well, as did the balance of flavours. The slightly bitter broccoli was enhanced by the sweetness of the peas, and the flavour of the garlic and leek removed any need for additional stock.

Delicious with toasted, pretty plaited Challah bread, courtesy of a friend...