Broccoli tahini lemon soup - easy or fancy

When Sylvia and I were planning our meals before our weekly trip to the supermarket last weekend, I decided to make a broccoli soup to use up some leftover coconut cream.  She was not so keen so I said it would be for lunches.  In the end it served a few dinners and lunches but I didn't quite have the energy to make it as pretty as My Darling Lemon Thyme did in the photos of their soup.  However it was excellent.  It must be a while since I made a dish that morphed into different meals such a satisfying way.

The Broccoli soup with Tahini, Lemon and Pine Nut Za'atar recipe that I started out making had such pretty photos that it drew me in.  The swirl of sauce with nuts and Za'atar.  The bright green.  Raw broccoli is such an amazing green but it loses colour so easily when cooked.  The added green leaves in the recipe keep the green.

When I started cooking, I found that I did not have a large pestle and mortar to make the lemon tahini sauce and got lazy and added the sauce ingredients to the soup when I blended it.  I also added an extra cup of water before some much broccoli was above the water line (see above photo of how it looked with 5 cups of water). 

I loved how all the flavours of the soup.  It was rather thin compared to most soups I make but very easy to drink in a mug or ramekin.  I find a mug of soup with some bread very satisfying.  The next day I added some cheese, olives, tomatoes and spinach as well as bread and soup for an excellent lunch while working from home.  The same evening I had it for dinner and added pasta, peas and tinned brown lentils.  It was an easy makeover.  The two photos show how the soup can be augmented in very different ways for satisfying meals.

Sylvia was disappointed it was so thin and gave up plans to eat it as a pasta sauce but then she tried a little and was really impressed.  She first tried a little with a few spoonfuls of the sauce and decided it was ok.  The next night she had leftovers with pasta and parmesan.  That was a win for me.

Though not such a pretty soup as I had originally intended, I made an effort to take some photos the following day.  I have also amended my below version of the recipe to give options for easy or fancy.  My photos show a good honest soup to have after a weekend of tidying and cleaning around the house.  Maybe one day I will get back into inviting people over for dinner and have cause to make the fancy version.  As long as it is green and flavourful, either way is great.

More broccoli recipes on my Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:

• Broccoli with brie and breadcrumbs
• Broccoli and hazelnut burgers
• Broccoli and miso pasties 
• Chickpea broccoli casserole (v)
• Cream of broccoli soup
• Green lasagne with broccoli and rocket pesto 
• Kale and broccoli salad (gf, v)
• Lettuce, broccoli and pea soup (gf, v)  
• Sicilian drowned broccoli (gf)
• Sushi with broccoli, edamame and pickled carrots (gf, v)  
• The enchanted broccoli forest (gf)
  
  

Broccoli tahini lemon soup
Adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme
serves 4-6

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp oregano

2 heads of broccoli, head and stems roughly chopped

3-5 cups water (depending on how thick you prefer)
2 heaped teaspoons stock powder

200ml coconut cream

big handful of baby spinach (or leaves of silverbeet, chard or mummy spinach)

Tahini lemon sauce:
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cashew nuts, chopped and soaked in water
4 tablespoon tahini
juice of 1 lemon (3-4 tbsp)
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Suggested garnishes (optional):
dukkah, chopped nuts, sesame seeds (preferably both white and black), parsley, chives, cracked pepper, parmesan cheese. za'atar

EASY OPTION:

Heat oil in frypan and add leek, garlic, salt, smoked paprika, cumin and oregano.  Fry until leek softens.  Add broccoli, water and stock powder.  [Note: water does not need to cover broccoli.]  Boil, cover and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

While soup simmers, put together the the tahini lemon sauce ingredients.  Set aside

Add coconut cream, spinach and tahini ingredients to the saucepan.  Blend until smooth.  I used a hand held blender.  Serve hot or warm.  Add one of the suggested garnishes if you wish.

FANCY OPTION: 

Heat oil in frypan and add leek, garlic, salt, smoked paprika, cumin and oregano.  Fry until leek softens.  Add broccoli, water and stock powder.  Note: water does not need to cover broccoli.]  Bring to the boil, cover and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  

While soup simmers, bend the sauce ingredients together to make a creamy sauce - use a large pestle and mortar gradually adding ingredients in order OR bung it all in a blender. Set aside

Add coconut cream and spinach to the saucepan.  Blend until smooth.

Serve with a swirl of sauce and one of the suggested garnishes

On the Stereo:
Costello Music: The Fratellis