Seared Broccoli & Potato Soup

It finally feels like fall in Colorado! It’s getting chilly, the weather is changing and all I want to do is make soups and bust out my slow cooker. I am sort of obsessed with fall flavors in general and enjoy seasonal produce in the fall more than any other season (butternut squash, broccoli, potatoes, beets… you name it and I’m obsessed with it).

I found this recipe for seared broccoli and potato soup on the New York Times Cooking page (which I stalk frequently) and was really impressed so now I’m sharing it with you. For the NYT full recipe go here (more detailed), otherwise here’s some pics and a general breakdown of how this soup sesh went down.

Start by searing 2 heads of broccoli chopped in some olive oil. The key as the recipe suggests is to really get a char and don’t poke them around to much as they cook. Once charred, remove and set aside.

I’m big on prepping everything before I get going, that way everything is diced and chopped and you can actually follow a recipe along in real time instead of being like “oh boy, I now need to stop and chop an onion”. If you don’t already do this, buy some prep bowls and start it will seriously make your cooking process a lot smoother.

Add 1 large onion (diced) with 5 cloves of chopped garlic to butter to the pan along with some black and red pepper flakes and salt as you sauté. Add 1/2 pound of peeled and sliced potatoes along with 1 quart of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, cover pot and cook until potatoes are tender (10 minutes or so). Add seared broccoli and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest and roughly puree the mixture. You can either use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to a standing blender (that’s what I did, the Vitamix worked great for this and fit it all in one transfer). Stir in additional 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and top with some cheese of your choice or NYT suggests a drizzle of olive oil.

My finished soup! Honestly it was so delicious and felt very light but still flavorful. This is a different soup than a traditional heavy broccoli cheddar, I think adding some parmesan to the finished soup helps add some of that cheesy flavor you might miss otherwise.