In an attempt to get eat more healthy, but still retaining the comforting nature of a cream-based soup. This winter, I came up with a broccoli soup recipe that primarily used steamed cauliflower to make the soup more sumptious.

I steamed a “bunch” of broccoli (two or three heads in the package from Publix) and a half a head of cauliflower. I did a rough separation of the florets and placed in a covered bowl in the microwave for five minutes with a couple tablespoons of water.

While those were steaming, I sauteed a vidalia onion in a tablespoon of oil until translucent and then added a couple small cloves of garlic, roughly chopped. I then added salt and pepper and a sprinkling of flour (which can be omitted if you wanted to have a gluten free/paleo recipe). I cooked the flour for a minute while stirring and then added a quart of chicken stock (there is a great new product by Swanson’s). You could use homemade stock or even use water with chicken boullion, depending what you have on hand. Bring to a light bubble.

I added the steamed veggies to the liquid and let it cook down for about 10 minutes. I wanted everything to be super tender. After the simmering, I got out my stick blender and blended to a nice creamy consistency without making it a puree. This makes a pretty thick soup, so you could add more stock depending on your taste. Make sure to salt and pepper along the way…makes a big difference.

To finish, I added juice from a half a lemon and some lemon zest. (You could also use a splash of white wine vinegar or sherry.) This adds a nice zing to balance the creaminess.

Options: Depending on how healthy you want to make it, you can add a glug of cream or garnish with cheddar cheese, but it tastes good without it. We also used some gourmet Crispy Onions from Fresh Market once and that was delicious.

Let me know if you try this out. But I ended up eating this in a couple different variations for a couple weeks. Also an especially great lunch option at the office.