Cream of Broccoli Soup (with no cream!)

This healthful soup is a snap to prepare. It's chock full of restorative ingredients and can be easily converted to a vegan recipe by subbing out the chicken broth with a vegetable broth. If you're one of those handy cooks that always has some homemade chicken broth stashed away in your freezer, here's a great place to use it. If you're like me and you keep a stockpile of boxed chicken broth in your pantry, that works fine too. No one will ever know the difference. 

For years I've been whipping up batches of this yummy soup during the dreary days of winter. It's nice to have some tasty vegetable dishes in your repertoire to lighten up all those heavy meals we find ourselves eating in wintertime.

The not so secret ingredient here is oats. When blended with the broccoli you achieve a velvety consistency reminiscent of cream without the dairy and the calories. I don't know about you, but this is usually the time of year I begin feeling like I can use less cream and more green in my diet.

I love recipes with simple ingredients that can be easily found in any market.

An immersion blender will turn this mixture into a lush, silky soup in no time.

You'll never miss the cream in this creamy dish!

Here's my recipe:

Cream of Broccoli Soup (with no cream!)

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbl avocado oil (or olive)

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp curry powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

2 quarts chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1/3c rolled oats

1 large head of broccoli, washed, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot over medium hear, saute' onion in oil until soft and translucent.

Add curry powder and cayenne. Cook for another minute or two.

2. Add broth, broccoli, oats and salt to the pot. Cover, bring to a boil. 

3. Remove the lid, lower the heat and simmer until the broccoli is tender-about 20 minutes.

4. Using an immersion blender*, blend the soup until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. 

Enjoy!

*If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a conventional counter top blender or food processor. Although, if you don't have one of these handy gadgets, I highly recommend purchasing one. It's not a big investment, won't take up much storage space and you'll never stop finding ways to use it.