Cauliflower & Broccoli Soup
Or as I like to call it CauliBroc Soup. Or you can just call it delicious.
I’ve been cooking since I was ten years old, yet had never mastered soup. I made my first soup in high school. I was sick and home alone. So I threw a can of tomatoes and spices into a pan and heated it. Probably just garlic powder and salt. It was okay, as I recall. Since then, I really didn’t think much about making soup. There were a couple of attempts, but they were mostly flavorless.
So I just thought I wasn’t a soup maker.
Until the pandemic happened.
That time changed a lot of us, I know. And for me it meant even more cooking. One of my favorite bloggers shared a recipe for broccoli soup. Or was it cauliflower? Both were in season at the time, so I tried her recipe.
And so began a season of making broccoli soup. Cauliflower soup. And broccoli cauliflower soup. It just depended upon what was available from our local farmer that week. That was 2021.
We loved the soups and they became part of our lunchtime meals. The end of the growing season in South Texas for broccoli and cauliflower also meant the end of the soup making. Until this year.
In reality, I had a love/hate relationship with that original recipe. I loved how the soup came out. But I wasn’t fond of the process. The recipe starts with cut up vegetables that cook in broth. Once they are done, you strain the vegetables out and run them through your food processor or blender. In batches. Until they were all mostly puréed. Then you put them back in the pan.
To say it was messy is an understatement. I wound up with the hot broth liquid everywhere and a lot of dirty dishes. I had to process some of the veggies then pour them into another container because there were more veggies to be processed.
This year, I had an idea. 💡 One that would reduce the mess. It still involved the food processor. And it added in the stick blender. I used the food processor on the raw vegetables. At the end, I used the stick blender to purée the soup. It worked. It wasn’t near as messy. It was faster! And I didn’t have to schlep hot veggies in hot broth from pan to food processor to bowl! Or clean up the mess!
Now I’m ready to share it.
I have my own frustrations with so many recipes that I find. Some recipes give times that are not to be believed. They can set you up for failure.
For example: Prep time and cook time. Recipes like to tell you that they will take much less time than is reality. And I can usually spot it. But what of the new cook? You want to believe the recipe when it says 30 minutes. And reality is that a seasoned cook would take at least 45 minutes. And if you’re just starting out? It could take an hour or more. And by that time the kids are screaming because they’re hungry! Or who knows? Perhaps you’re screaming due to hunger?
Or the recipe will call for 1 onion. Or half a lemon. Or a small tomato. Or even 1 bok choy. There are so many ways that can go wrong. How big is that onion? Or that lemon? How small is a small tomato? And as for bok choy? I’ve bought some that were humongous.
So I strive to give more accurate information. Weights are fairly absolute. A pound is a pound. That could require having a scale in your kitchen, but they’re fairly inexpensive and very useful.
Having said all that, I’ve tried to provide the quantities I used, but don’t sweat the quantities too much. The amount of broth matters more in relation to the amount of veggies. Basically I add broth so that the veggies are almost covered in the pan. Here’s a video where I try to demonstrate:
The original recipe also called for adding grated cheese during the last few minutes, after all the processing. I eliminated that step and add the cheese on top of each serving. The person who washes pans in your home will appreciate that one minor change. The cheese in the pan results in an added film on the pan that has to be scrubbed off!
New to cooking?
This is the first of many recipes I intend to post on this platform! Are you an experienced cook? A newbie? Somewhere in between? I want you to know that it isn’t as hard as you think. Even if it’s been hard in the past, throw that idea out the window. Now!
That kind of thinking will definitely keep you out of the kitchen! Many people fear that they might make a mistake. That their creations will be tasteless or inedible. That they will be a failure. It could happen, but failure is just something to learn from. Sometime, I’ll tell you about some of my worst failures.
I like to remember this quote from Julia Child:
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
If you are new to cooking, I’m available to help support you on your cooking adventure. Learn more by visiting this page.
A Note About Chicken Broth
Chicken broth and bone broth were once staples in any kitchen. They were made from the bones of animals that had been cooked. They are a rich source of minerals. Minerals we now often lack because bone broths aren’t used as much. Ideally, homemade bone broth is best for any recipe. I admit I don’t always do that myself. When you buy bone broth, read the ingredients and try to find the closest thing to homemade that you can.
Cauliflower & Broccoli Soup Recipe
Yield: about 8 servings.
Total time: about 90 minutes, including some clean up.
Cook time: about 35-40 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion, about 1/2 of a medium-sized onions
Crushed red pepper
Broccoli - I had about 1.2 pounds of broccoli. Get something close to that
Cauliflower - My cauliflower weighed 1.72 pounds, but yours could be more or less
Let’s be real here. I had about 3 pounds of veggies. Mix them up any way you like.
4 cups chicken broth - this can vary depending on the amount of veggies
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Grated cheese. Your choice of cheese. I’m fond of extra sharp cheddar!
PREPARING TO COOK:
Cut up onion and set aside.
Wash the broccoli & cauliflower and cut into smallish pieces. About 1 - 1.5 inches across. Doesn’t have to be perfect since they’ll get pulverized in the food processor.
Run the broccoli & cauliflower through the food processor until it looks like rice. This will likely require several batches.
Have the chicken broth, salt and pepper nearby along with measuring cup & spoons.
COOKING DIRECTIONS:
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, until hot.
Add the onion and crushed red pepper.
Sauté until transparent.
Add in the broccoli & cauliflower, that you just ran through the food processor.
Now pour in the broth, but only until the veggies are just barely covered. You may not need it all. Then again, you may need more. Add in more if needed and if you’re out of broth, use water for the rest.
Add in the 1 tsp of salt and the 1/4 tsp black pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
Use your stick blender to purée the soup.
Put in bowls and top with grated cheese.
ENJOY!