Soup’s On!
Lately, more often than not, the answer to “what’s to eat?” in our house has been “soup!” The cold weather and a craving for warm, creamy, comforting meals has led me to make butternut squash soup, sweet potato and coconut quinoa soup, broccoli soup, and black bean soup.
The sweet potato and coconut quinoa soup and the black bean soup were both recipes from my beloved Quinoa 365 cookbook (another recipe I tried and liked from it this weekend was the Mexican Casserole!) My experiences making those delicious soups led me to experiment with the broccoli soup recipe I usually make, and I am thrilled with the results.
I already knew that adding quinoa to any soup, much like adding rice, would be a good way to bulk it up a bit, both texturally and nutritionally, and would be a more healthful choice than, say, noodles. But what about a creamy soup? Turns out that is even easier!
What I’ve learned now that you can basically add cooked quinoa to any soup recipe, and, although I love the taste and the texture, if the soup is one that you blend or puree, you probably won’t even notice the addition (hint, hint, moms!)
However, that addition is giving you added protein and fiber with minimal fat. For someone like me, who gravitates toward a mainly vegetarian diet but is often concerned about getting enough protein (especially while I’m pregnant!) quinoa has been a great option, and adding it to my favorite soup recipes is just my newest favorite way to enjoy this superfood.
Here’s my slightly revised broccoli soup recipe. I’ve added in the quinoa and shifted other ingredient quantities just slightly based on experience. Give it a try!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 2 bunches broccoli
- 2-3 large or 4-5 small sweet potatoes, peeled
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 tablespoons tamari (wheat free soy sauce)
- optional: Parmesan or organic cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Place quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until quinoa is tender.
- While quinoa cooks, cut the florets off of the broccoli so that you have almost no portion of the stalk and place in a separate bowl.
- Cut the stalks of the broccoli and the sweet potatoes into small pieces.
- Place in a medium pot and fill with water just until the veggies are covered and bring to a boil.
- Cook until soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove broccoli and potato from the water, reserving the water, and put into blender.
- Add cooked quinoa and blend.
- Slowly add the water from the pot to your blender until you get a good soup consistency.
- Add garlic and tamari, and blend again.
- Place soup back in the pot and add broccoli florets.
- Leave on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with a little fresh ground pepper.
- Optional: sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese or organic cheddar on top of your bowl before serving.
