Creamy Broccoli Soup with Red Pepper Crème: Healthy & Green for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Red Pepper Crème sounds delectable enough on its own but even better topping a bowl of hearty soup. I have had this recipe from The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry tagged to make for quite a while now. It's vegan and the the crème comes from one of my favorite things--cashew cream but don't tell your carnivore friends and no one will be the wiser. ;-)

Gentry says, "This is a very sophisticated soup because the roasted pepper crème makes a dramatic presentation and add a deep, wonderful flavor."

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Red Pepper Crème
The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry
(Serves 8)

2 Tbsp canola oil
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 lbs broccoli, stems trimmed & coarsely chopped, florets cut into bite-size pieces
8 cups lite veggie stock or water
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 cups packed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup Red Pepper Crème (recipe follows)

Heat oil in a heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery and sauté for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the broccoli stems and all but 4 cups of the florets. Sauté for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in the stock, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. Stir in the spinach. 

Using a handheld immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth. Alternatively, working in batches, puree in a regular blender until smooth.  

Add the reserved broccoli florets and return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 8 minutes, or just until the broccoli-florets are crisp-tender. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired. 

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle Red Pepper Crème decoratively over soup and serve. 

(Note: The soup will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated.)

Gentry says, "Drizzle this roasted pepper crème into soups but remember that a little goes a long way."
 
Red Pepper Crème  
The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry
(Makes about 1/2 cup) 

1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp unsweetened soy milk
1 Tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend the roasted red pepper, cashews, soy milk, lemon juice and salt in a blender until smooth and creamy.

(Note: The crème will keep for 1-2 days, covered and refrigerated. Stir before using.)
 

Notes/Results: A tasty simple broccoli soup--full of good green fiber and nutrients from the broccoli, spinach and celery. It is the Red Pepper Crème is what makes this one stand out. Slightly sweet in flavor, it complements the soup nicely and adds a pop of bright color. The blended soup is thick and creamy and the small bites of broccoli keep it texturally interesting. I made a half batch of the soup (and a full batch of the Red Pepper Crème) ;-) and it made 4 large servings. Easy and tasty, I would make both the soup and the crème again. 

We have a couple of salads and a wrap/sandwich waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's take a look. 

Mireille of Chef Mireille's East West Realm shares this Tropical Shrimp Salad and says, "It's interesting how every city in the country has huge, bulk membership only shopping superstores like Costco, BJ's & Sam's Club. These did not exist when I was a child. Anyway, Costco is the nearest to where I live and I shop there regularly. As a way to promote their products, periodically they come out with free cookbooks. This recipe is from the one titled Easy Cooking: The Costco Way. This salad is light and refreshing and perfect for a summertime dinner."

Here at Kahakai Kitchen, I made this scrumptious Massaged Kale Salad with Currants, Pine Nuts & Parmesan inspired by Ruth Reichl's new foodie novel Delicious. Full of flavor, with tender ribbons of massaged kale with little bursts of the sweet currants, the buttery crunch of the pine nuts, and the slightly salty Parmesan shreds. Check out the post and enter to win a copy of Delicious of your own. 

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog made a fruity salsa that eats like a salad--her Skinny Mango Salsa. Judee says, "This recipe is skinny on calories, but not on taste. There is nothing like the taste of homemade salsa made with lots of fresh vegetables, fresh herbs and spices. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made a sweet and crunchy mango salsa... The mango salsa can be eaten with an organic blue corn chips or cucumber slices as dippers. The mango salsa also tastes especially great just eaten as a salad."

Janet of The Taste Space brings these Bahn Mi Collard Wraps with Star Anise Pickled Daikon and Carrots and says, "We ended up (ok, just me) stockpiling veggies when we finally ended up at an Asian market for our weekly grocery run. We put them to great use in this vegan spin on bahn mi sandwiches. Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich, which I associate with the pickled vegetables and cilantro. Here, tofu and mushrooms are scrambled as the base. The veggies, with Terry’s spin of adding star anise, make this a nice and bright wrap. Rob thought it was his best sandwich ever. I thought it nice, too, and opted to eat it in a collard wrap."

Thanks to Mireille, Judee and Janet for joining in this week. If you have a soup, salad, or sandwich to share, just click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a happy, healthy week!