Cream of Broccoli Soup

I've said before that The Lovely Wife is the Queen of Soups. In all my years of cooking, I have never, ever made a soup - unless of course you count opening a can of Campbell's Soup and boiling it as making soup. Not quite the same. I have to admit that she makes a darned good soup too.


One of my wife's favourite soup recipe books is the Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection - Soups. This recipe is based on one from the book although the recipe is for a Cream of Cauliflower Soup. She didn't quite think Cream of Cauliflower would be as nice as Cream of Broccoli simply because we all know how delicious broccoli can be right! Anyway, i have never heard of Cream of Cauliflower before either... and somehow don't think it would be quite as delicious, let alone colourful. There IS something to be said for a greenish soup, don't you think?

This is the recipe with broccoli substituted for Cauliflower.

about 400g Broccoli, chopped
14 g butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small leek, white part only, sliced thinly
15g plain flour
750ml milk
Salt
Pepper

Method
Place broccoli in a pan and cover with 100ml water. Bring to the boil then let simmer for 7 minutes or till soft. Puree the broccoli and liquid together in a processor until smooth.
In a medium pan, melt butter then add onion and leek. Cook until tender. Add the flour and cook for at least a minute, stirring continuously until pale blonde in colour. Remove from heat and stir in the milk until smooth. Return to heat and bring to the boil stirring continuously. Add the puree of broccoli to the pan and season to taste.



Rather delicious I must say! The kids love it when Mummy makes soup and this is a great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables. Although in all fairness to my kids, they don't have any problems eating their veges. I just want to set the record straight so they don't read this when they are older and say that Daddy is telling stories that aren't true!


This is also the kind of soup that is perfect for a light meal or to snuggle up with on a cold winters night. Seeing that we don't have winter in this part of the world, I reckon its still a good bet to make on one of those dark and stormy nights where its pouring rain outside - and a little cool indoors!

Pumpkin Soup

Every once in a while its nice to start of a meal with soup. The kids love it and there is nothing quite as delicious as homemade soup. This is the Lovely Wifes department. She is the soup queen and I never, ever interfere with her soupy endeavours! Well, maybe sometimes...

One of our favourite soups is Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkins are delicious on their own and even more so when made into a soup. This recipe is based on the Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection Soups book.
The actual recipe calls for long grained rice but the Lovely Wife added in some macaroni instead. The kids loved the fact that there was pasta in the soup and it gave a little more 'fill' to the soup.

This is the recipe from the book:
750g -1kg pumpkin
3 large potatoes - chopped
3 large tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 stalk lemon grass, white part only, bruised with the side of a large knife
1.2 litres chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 tablsepsoons long grain rice
pinch of nutmeg
15 g unsalted butter (optional)
3 tablespoons thick cream

Method
Cut a wide circle around the pumpkin stem using a small, sharp, pointed knife and remove the top. Using a large metal spoon, scarpe the seeds from the pumpkin and discard, then either scrape as much flesh as possible from the pumpkin using the spoon or cut the pumpkin into wedges. Slice just inside the skin to release the flesh and chop it roughly.
Place the pumpkin, potato, tomato and lemon grass into a large saucepan with the stock or water. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, then reucde the heast and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Remove the lemon grass stalk and discard.
While the soup is simmering, add the rice to a pan of boiling salt water and stir to the boil. Cook for about 12 minutes or till tender. Drain the rice in a sieve and risne under water. Set aside and leave to drain well.
Transfer the soup to a blender of food processor and puree untill smooth. Return the soup to a clean pan, add the nutmeg and adjust the seasoning. The soup should be thick but still drinkable from a spoon. If the consistency seems too thick, ad a little milk. Stir in the rice, butter and cream then heat through. Pour into bowls and garnish with freshly ground pepper and some herbs if desired.

It was certainly delicious and to add some 'colour', The Lovely Wife dropped in a dollop of cream in the middle and swirled it. The kids loved this and wanted to keep adding more cream just to swirl it around!


Since there is a little pasta in this recipe, I'm submitting it to my friend Ruth who hosts Presto Pasta Nights over at Onceuponafeast.blogpsot.com