Broccoli Soup

I had had a Broccoli soup in a European restaurant in Bangalore and had loved it with the flavors of Italian herbs complimenting the broccoli. Wanted to recreate that when i found some fresh Broccoli here and this is what it is.... It was pretty close to the original, sans the extra salt that i had added first time! Next time on, it came out pretty well, with the right salt.

A simple, easy to make soup, to compliment some bread for a light dinner… Just cooking for two of us now, I prefer to do some simple stuff on some days and an elaborate meal on others!

It is pretty cool here, for me who came from a tropical climate, though it is summer now. I wonder how it will be in actual winter! Summer or winter, soups are making a regular appearance in my menu these days, and this is one such.

Broccoli Soup

Preparation time       : 5 min

Cooking time             : 15 min

Serves                         :  4 -5

Ingredients:

Broccoli – 1 cup, chopped

Butter  - 1 tsp

Black pepper powder  - 1 tsp

Salt                  - ½ tsp or as per taste - go easy on this

Water              - 2 cups, change acc to consistency

Corn flour - 2 tsp

Milk - ¼ cup

Fresh cream    - 1 Tbsp (optional)

Thyme – ½ tsp / or any other herb of your choice

Method:

• Clean and chop Broccoli into large chunks
• Heat butter in a pan and add chopped broccoli
• Add water and bring to boil and cook till they are cooked soft
• Let it cool for a few minutes
• Puree it adding the water used for cooking the broccoli if necessary, to make a fine paste
• Strain the puree to the same pan
• Add salt and thyme and let it boil for 2-3 minutes.
• Mix corn flour with half a cup of cold milk/water without lumps and add it to the boiling soup
• Add enough water so that a right consistency of soup is maintained – neither too thick nor too thin
• Let it boil for a couple of minutes more.
• Put off the heat and add fresh cream and stir well
• Add pepper powder and serve hot

Notes:

• A small onion can also be added to give a different flavor