Broccoli-Edamame Soup with Jumbo Goat Cheese Croutons
serves 8
VT says: "This creamy soup gets its extra richness and bright color from edamame".
I say: it was really surprisingly creamy! I didn't make the jumbo crouton and only used a teeny bit of nutmeg (I'm not a big fan but Jim likes it). Next time, I have to remember to peel the stems of the broccoli as they were very fibrous and I had to sieve the soup. That made it even smoother (and fancier).
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (about 4 small)
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or 2 veggie broth cubes & 6 cups water)
3 cups frozen shelled edamame (= one 12 oz bag from Trader Joe's)
1 lb broccoli - stems & florets chopped (= one bunch from TJ's; peel stems first!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ½-inch-thick slices from skinny whole grain baguette
4 oz. aged goat cheese, shaved (or soy cheese if you want to keep it vegan)
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and nutmeg, season with salt & pepper, if desired. Sauté 10 minutes. Stir in ½ cup broth, scraping bottom of pot to lift off any brown bits. Add remaining broth, edamame, broccoli, garlic. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 350F. Arrange baguette slices on baking sheet, bake 6 minutes until crunchy on both sides. Remove from oven, arrange cheese over toasts. Return to oven and bake 6 minutes more, or until cheese has softened.
(When broccoli stems are soft:) Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Return soup to pot and warm over low heat. Ladle soup into 8 shallow soup bowls; float 1 cheese crouton in center of each bowl.
PER SERVING (1¼ CUP SOUP AND 1 CROUTON): 195 cal, 12g protein, 9g total fat (4g sat fat) 19g carb, 15mg chol, 174mg sodium, 5g fiber, 5g sugars
