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Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
Instructions
Take small heads of broccoli and cauliflower with small florets. If you leave out the mushrooms, you get a truly dietary soup, the kind recommended for stomach troubles.
Wash the broccoli and cut the florets into several pieces, each small enough to fit on a spoon. Tip them into the pot.
Add the chopped cauliflower florets.
Add the slices of sweet pepper without defrosting them.
Toss in the bay leaves and the salt. It is best to keep the soup only lightly salted, which is considered the healthiest, and let everyone adjust the taste in their own bowl afterwards by adding a few grains of sea salt.
Pour the water into the pot. Cabbage is softer in soup than in salad. Boil the broccoli and cauliflower for 15 minutes over medium heat, then add the rest of the ingredients and boil everything together for another 5-7 minutes.
Slice the champignons and sauté them under a lid for 10 minutes, in half of the oil listed.
Chop the onion and carrot and pour in the remaining oil. For a regular soup, fry them for 5 minutes over medium heat; for the dietary version, stew them under a lid for 10 minutes over the lowest heat.
Before the mushrooms, onion and carrot go into the soup, the broth needs to be thickened. Ladle out a couple of broccoli and cauliflower florets, mash them to a purée with a fork and return them to the pot.
Tip the mushrooms and the vegetable sauté into the pot.
Add thin pasta made from durum wheat. I prefer the kind that cooks in 3-5 minutes.
To stop the pasta sliding off the spoon, break the strands into three pieces beforehand.
Serve the broccoli and cauliflower soup hot. Since it is a very quick dish, I make it for a single meal so there is no need to reheat it.Enjoy your meal!
Tips
- 1
DO NOT OVERCOOK THE CABBAGE – 15 minutes maximum. Any longer and it boils down to mush, losing its shape and bright colour.
- 2
PURÉE PART OF THE CABBAGE – this gives body without potato or starch. A "natural" thickener made from the vegetables themselves.
- 3
BREAK THE PASTA INTO THREE PIECES – long strands are awkward on a spoon. Small shapes (shells, stars) are an alternative.
- 4
COOK IT FOR ONE MEAL – the pasta swells overnight and the soup turns into a thick mush. The same principle applies to other kinds of vegetable soups with pasta.
FAQ
How do you choose broccoli and cauliflower? +
Ideally, firm heads with bright green florets (broccoli) or white ones (cauliflower). Avoid yellow patches, wilted leaves and black specks on the florets – signs of spoilage. Florets about 2-3 cm in diameter are perfect for soup. Use the stalks too: peel off the tough outer layer, chop them finely, and they add a crunchy touch to the soup. Frozen ones are a convenient alternative all year round – add them without thawing. Miratorg, 4 Seasons and Bonduelle are good frozen brands. Fresh is preferable, with more vitamins.
Which pasta should you choose? +
Thin durum-wheat pasta that cooks in 3-5 minutes is ideal: thin vermicelli, angel hair (capellini), stars, alphabet, small shells, pompushki. Brands such as Barilla, De Cecco, Dallaghi and Shebekinskaya are good quality. Avoid pasta that takes 10+ minutes (it is too substantial and swells in the soup) and homemade noodles (they make the broth cloudy). For the dietary version, use rice noodles (soak for 10 minutes in hot water). The 100 g amount is standard; you can reduce it to 70 g for a more "brothy" soup. Before cooking, break long pasta into 3-4 cm pieces.
How long does the soup keep? +
It is best freshly cooked, on the day it is made. In the fridge it keeps for up to 2 days, but the pasta swells and the soup turns into a thick mush. Reheat over low heat and dilute with water (100-150 ml) to bring back the consistency. Do not freeze it – the vegetables and pasta lose their texture after thawing. If you need to cook ahead, make the base (broth with the cabbage and mushrooms) without the pasta, and add fresh pasta each time you reheat, 3-5 minutes before serving. Cook it for one meal for 4-5 people; that is the best approach.
What do you serve the soup with? +
A dietary classic: with black or grey bread, rye crispbreads or croutons. With sour cream (1 tsp) – though the author thinks it is not needed, try it both with and without. With grated parmesan on top for a restaurant-style serving. With fresh herbs (dill, parsley, spring onion) for a vitamin bonus. With black bread, olive oil and garlic for an Italian note. With melted-cheese toasts for a more filling option. For a "dietary supper", serve without bread, alongside a green salad. For children, add more pasta and fewer mushrooms. With ginger tea for a warming winter lunch.
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