Damn it's chilly in the evening time! Which makes it officially soup weather. I am always on the lookout for different & interesting soups to make. But also for different toppings to put on the soup. Personally I find the toppings are often the best part. It's where you can add some texture, acidity, fish or meat and some freshness too with herbs. Well, this rocket & broccoli soup didn't disappoint on that front. Not only are we a few degrees warmer, a touch healthier as we ain't demolishing a burger!! Speaking of which check out my latest on here. We have maximum flavour going on inside the soup but also maximum texture coming from those crispy golden nuggets (chickpeas if you are wondering) and some bread to fill us up. Read on my friend - you won't be disappointed.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROCKET (ARUGULA) & BROCCOLI SOUP
- simplicity - it's quick to make, easy to eat and freezes well
- healthy - aside from the toppings it's all veg so a great one to fill you up, keep you warm and not pile on the lbs
- cost effective - these ingredients aren't expensive and are readily available too
- kid friendly - a great way to get some veg into your kids
- suits most dietary requirements. substitute veg stock for chicken stock and/or omit the parmesan
- quick to make - heck you can add some shredded chicken and you have got yourself a healthy main course in 30 minutes!
HOW TO MAKE GREAT SOUP
Not that I am saying this rocket & broccoli soup doesn't have great flavour but this recipe is about keeping it simple for your work week soup. If you have more time on your hands and wanna take your soup up a few notches then check out my tricks below.
Flavour, flavour, flavour
For those of you who watch the Aussie masterchef you will know what I am talking about. The way to build flavour into your soups sometimes isn't just by chucking a load of spices in but about building it through cooking. Think about slow roasting those onions in the oven to bring out some natural sweetness. Maybe smoke some pumpkin on your bbq. All of these actions are simple ways to add extra kicks of flavour to your soup
Butter
EVERYTHING is better with butter. Well, actually that's not entirely true. My waistline isn't necessarily better but boy does adding it to soup make it taste more luxurious. PLUS a knob of butter is certainly better than adding 1/2 a cup of cream!
Smooth it out
Invest in a good quality blender or stick blender. You don't want your veg overcooked and mushy but you also don't want it hard and chunky. Once cooked blend the soup until smooth. THEN pass it through a sieve for any bits you may have missed. This and the addition of butter are gonna make for a smooth and glossy soup
Seasoning
Don't just chuck some in at the end AND don't over salt it at the beginning. Cooking is about adding layers of flavour and using your ingredients to add salt, acid & sugar. For example in this broccoli soup we add parmesan in at the end so we have to be wary of that during the cooking. The same way when we add spice to something it may not seem to hot at first but once cooled and reheated the spice level will come up a few notches.
Toppings
THIS is what I love about soup. The addition of texture, acid, spice etc that you can put on top of the soup that makes each mouthful wanting for more. So next time you are making soup don't just blend up some veg and leave it at that. Think of how you can make it soup 2.0 with some great toppings.
FURTHER INSPIRATION
Check out other soup recipes of mine and some of my fellow blogging friends recipes too!
- Cauliflower, tarragon & bacon soup
- Coconut corn soup w/ pickled onion & crab
- Roasted capsicum & basil oil soup by Alexandra Cook of 'It's Not Complicated'
- Lentil soup w/ lemon & rosemary by Claire McEwen of 'Sprinkles And Sprouts'
- French shrimp soup by Claire McEwen of 'Sprinkles And Sprouts' - this is her all time favourite soup and it's easy to see why!
- Vegetable barley soup by Cassie Heilbron of 'Cook It Real Good'
- Mushroom walnut soup by Robyn Jones of 'Mrs Jones Kitchen'
Well, if soup doesn't inspire you to get into the kitchen and whip up something then maybe hit up my INSTAGRAM and see what else I've been cooking lately for some other inspiration
Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!
Ingredients
- 300 g rocket
- 150 g broccoli chopped
- 1/2 brown onion diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 liter chicken or vegetable stock
- 25 g parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 knob butter
- salt
- peper
Garnish
- rocket leaves
- crouton
- crispy chickpeas
- cream optional
Instructions
Chickpeas
- Place a handful of chickpeas on a baking tray, toss with oil and bake for 8 - 10 minutes @ 220c - set aside.
Croutons
- Tear some old bread into bitesize pieces, drizzle with oil, salt & pepper. Bake for 5 - 6 minutes @ 220c until crispy - set aside.
Soup
- On a medium heat fry the onion in butter & oil until soft - 2/3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Add broccoli to onion mix and cook for 2/3 minutes. Add stock and cook for 10 minutes or until broccoli is soft.
- Add rocket, parmesan cheese and knob of butter and blend until smooth.
Serving
- Place soup in bowl and either in the centre or to the side place croutons & chickpeas. Place a couple leaves of rocket on top and finish with freshly ground black pepper
Notes
Essential Tools
- baking tray x 2
- large sauce pan
- chef knives
- chopping board
- blender or stick blender
- wooden spoon
Tips/Tricks
- when frying onion make sure you don't brown the onion. You are looking to soften them. This is called "sweating"
- adding the rocket in at the end keeps it's brighter colour and more of the nutrients as they don't boil away
- the garnish is optional but in my opinion a good soup topping really makes a soup
- this soup freezes well - just don't add the garnish before freezing!
What a beautiful looking soup - such a vibrant colour! Absolutely perfect for winter, and I love the croutons and chickpeas you uses as a topping!
Oh that colour! This loos and sounds amazing, thank you for sharing.
My pleasure Jaimie! I hope you enjoy it
Love the vibrant colour of this soup! Plus the crunchy chickpea topping is a big yes from me!
I’m a big fan of the chickpeas too - soup can often be v boring w/out texture or toppings I find
Such a beautiful, vibrant colour! The flavour is superb also! This will be on repeat in our household for sure!
Sounds good to me - I hope you enjoy it 😉
I agree, everything is better with butter...or bacon! This looks nutrient rich and delicious. We love creamy soups here, especially in the winter. All of your option look lovely!
Winter here now in Oz. Still nowhere near as cold as when I lived in NYC but I’m defo feeling the affect of the cooler temps
This sounds amazing! I will definitely try it. Love the idea of using arugula!
So simple to make and like I said with the addition of some shredded chicken you’ve got dinner sorted!
Yummy recipe and healthy.
Thanks Natasha - you ain’t wrong!!
This is delicious! I'll definitely try making this sometimes! I absolutely love soup to the extent that I used to write a soup blog with all kinds of different soups. However, at some point I ran out of ideas and stopped writing. This is lovely!
A soup blog - that’s AWESOME!! Is it still live? I’d love to read it