Broccolean Back
The months of February through May are an intensely irritating time for Chicagoans. The weather is typically, in a word, shit, but every so often there are a few days of spring-like weather, just warm enough to begin to melt the frost around our cold, black hearts. Then it goes back to winter again and we all collectively weep into our beers as we watch the snow fall. Mother Nature is a rotten tease.
This week, it has already snowed four inches and the weather has barely reached above freezing. It's unequivocally miserable outside, and there's only a few weeks to go until spring (not that spring means anything in Chicago -- if anything, it just signals even wilder weather is on the way).
At this point, I'm thoroughly sick of the hearty stews and stick-to-your-ribs peasant cooking that has carried me through the dark months of winter until now. Of course, it's still too cold for me to revert to my preferred diet of pasta salads and fruit chunks, so I have to get crafty.
This is the perfect recipe for the month of March in Chicago -- it's a hearty enough dinner that it will keep you warm, but it's vegetarian (and NOT made of lentils) so it doesn't feel so heavy. Plus, it's green -- very St. Patty's Day friendly. I originally got this recipe from Martha Stewart's website (she's a crook, but she makes a mean soup) and made some changes to amp up the flavor. If you don't have pine nuts already, don't rush out and buy any -- while they do class up the soup immensely and add a great textural component, they're extremely expensive.
You can easily make this soup vegan if you just substitute the parmegiano Reggiano for a pinch of nutritional yeast, but I'm not about to give up on cheese so I'll stick with what I've got. This recipe is also awesome because you use the entire head of broccoli so there's very little food waste -- always a plus.
Ingredients:
1 lb. broccoli (about one large head), sliced into small pieces
1 15-oz. can of cannelini (white) beans, drained
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbs. EVOO
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 c. Parmegiano Reggiano, divided
2 1/2 c. vegetable stock
2 tbs. toasted pine nuts for serving
Directions:
1. Steam the broccoli until until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly. If you want to look fancy, reserve some of the florets for garnish.
2. In a large stock pot, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Add the stock, parsley and beans and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the broccoli and 1/4 c. of the Reggiano. Remove from heat. Blend in batches (or with an immersion blender) until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the remaining cheese, pine nuts and the broccoli if you decided to go that route. Serve immediately.
