I Heart Broccoli: Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Croutons

Last weekend, my two very good friends from college took me out to give me my birthday present: mani-pedi's. We also threw in some eating, drinking, and shopping, too. While we were sauntering around and window shopping, we ended up at Anthropologie. I honestly cannot wear anything in that store, try as I might. I don't have the right complexion for the majority of the tones they play with and I definitely do not have the body, either (a wide body + flowy skirts, dresses, and tops = not that great). The thing that Anthropologie does have that I love to browse is their kitchenware section. Most of it is tchotchke items, but if I had the money to throw, I'd buy a handful of their beautiful mugs and linens. Anyway, while browsing, something caught my eye: a beautiful...brightly colored...cookbook. I love big splashy cookbooks with pages of photographed dishes and food. The book is Ripe: A Fresh Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables. It's a gorgeous book, first separated by color, and then by ingredient. I'd never seen a cookbook organized by color, but I love it (even has a website)! It helps illustrate the approach the author, Cheryl Sternman Rule, is going for. What grabs your attention in the produce section or farmer's market? Color. Color is was signifies ripeness, it signifies nutritional value, it signifies deliciousness. I quickly grabbed the book and brought it home. I haven't treated this cookbook like the others I have on my shelf. I have treated this cookbook like an actual book. My husband found me in the chair in our office curled up with this book, reading it, and he chuckled. "Who reads a cookbook?" Well, I do, I suppose. Each ingredient is prefaced with a vignette from the author, talking about her relationship with the ingredient. Her writing style is humorous, sarcastic, and genuine. It's similar to how I talk and even a bit how I write. I know I'll find myself leafing through this book a hundred more times, and you'll see plenty of her recipes posted here, as I find something new and exciting to make. But, of course, the first ingredient I turned to was broccoli.

I think I've mentioned my love of this particular member of the cabbage family before. I love broccoli. I've always had. It's not like it's a newly found favorite, like brussel sprouts (shh, don't tell my mom...), I've always loved broccoli. When I was a kid, my favorite vegetable side was steamed broccoli, topped with a splash of red wine vinegar. I never understood my cousins' infatuation with cheese sauce. Why drown these little tender trees with heavy thick cheese? Don't get me wrong, I love cheese sauce, but broccoli has this great flavor - why cover it up? Plus, I loved the texture of the stalk and the "leaves" of the crowns. It's a little sweet, a little bitter, and a whole lot of delicious. In college, my dorm fridge was stocked with bags of prepared broccoli florets. I'd throw them in a bowl with a bit of water and pop in the microwave for a minute or so. Pull it out and snack on them while watching TV or chatting online. The second half of my senior year consisted of broccoli florets and microwave-baked potatoes (plus its various toppings: hello baked beans!). My husband would shake his head whenever he'd visit and open my fridge to find these two items in abundance (amid bottles of beer, of course). No one could ever say my diet was unhealthy. It certainly wasn't a varied diet by any extent, but at least I wasn't living off of Hot Pockets.

So, what did Ms. Rule have in store for my favorite vegetable? Why, soup, of course! I love a good soup, but unfortunately the majority of broccoli soups at restaurants tend to be heavy, thick, and full of "cheese", with absolutely no flavor of broccoli, unless you count the sour taste of overcooked cabbage as the flavor of broccoli (which no one should). This soup has but a little bit of cheese in it and no cream. It uses an immersion blender and a bit of Greek yogurt to thicken at the end, but otherwise it's all broccoli on the inside. The thing that really caught my attention for this soup, though, was the combination of spices used to flavor the soup: whole cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and ground coriander. This elevates the soup entirely and places it into more Indian fare than American. Oh, and did I mention it's topped with cheddar croutons?* I love croutons in my soup (one of the reasons I LOVE French Onion Soup) and these add a lovely sharpness against the spicy thick soup. As the author notes before the recipe "As with most soups, its flavor improves over time." The spices are super potent even after a day after the soup is cooked. Total powerhouse of flavor, it definitely stands on its own. Or, you know, paired with an open-faced grilled cheese with tomato, which is what we did with the leftovers.

* Haha, okay, funny story about the croutons. The recipe says to line a baking sheet with parchment when making the cheddar croutons. I pulled out my roll of parchment and grabbed what was left of the roll: a 18" x 1" strip. Well, that wasn't going to do me any good. So, I grabbed what I thought would've been a fine substitute: aluminum foil. Boy, was I wrong. The cheese immediately stuck fast to the foil and took the cubes of bread hostage. I did what I could with my spatula when trying to flip and turn the croutons during baking, but it was a big fat mess. In my final step, attempting to rescue the croutons from the metal clutches of the foil, my husband peeks over my shoulder and says "Wouldn't a silpat worked better?" I shot him the look of death over my shoulder and he high-tailed it out of the kitchen. How stupid of me? I have 2 silpats in my arsenal. Why didn't I think to use them?! As I went about picking little bits of foil off of the salvaged croutons, I yelled to my husband in our office: "And, yes, a slipat would've worked better."

Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Croutons
Serves 6 to 8

4 thick slices of sturdy, bakery-style Bread (Pugliese, Sourdough, Country White, or the like)
1 teaspoon plus 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
1-1/2 Cups (120g) Cheddar Cheese, grated, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons Cumin Seeds
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
1/2 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Yellow Onion, medium-sized, diced
2 Pounds (907g) Broccoli: stalks peeled and thinly sliced, florets finely chopped
2 Cups (500ml) Vegetable Stock
3/4 Cup (178ml) Water
1/2 Cup (20g) Italian Parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 (110g) Greek Yogurt (nonfat is fine, but whole makes the soup a little creamier)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silpat (NOT foil, see above).
2. Dice the bread into 1/2-inch cubes (you'll end up with about 4 cups total). Toss on the prepared baking sheet with 1 teaspoon of the oil and 1 cup of the cheese. Spread in a single layer. (Most of the cheese will fall off the bread; keep calm, carry on.) Bake of 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly, flipping the bread and lifting the cheese with a spatula during baking. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil, cumin seeds, coriander, fennel seeds, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, onion, and sliced broccoli stalks. Sauté until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently so the spices don't burn. Add the stock, water, and florets and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Purée using an immersion blender (you'll have to til the pot and work slowly) or a traditional blender, in batches. Stir in the lemon justice, yogurt, and remaining cheese, and additional salt, to taste (my batch didn't need any extra salt). Serve hot, thinning with a touch of water or stock, if desired, and garnished with the cheddar croutons.
Credit: Rule, C. Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables (2011), p. 166.