zero waste broccoli and spinach soup recipes
Add article to favouritesAs promised, these are the soups I made last week from vegetables, cream and cheese that were about to walk out of the fridge themselves. I ended up with six pots of glorious brown stuff to stash away in the freezer for a ‘can’t be bothered to cook’ evening 🙂
Broccoli and cheese soup
Ingredients
butter or oil for frying
1 small, chopped onion – about 3oz
1 med potato, chopped – about 5oz
1 clove smashed garlic – optional
broccoli florets – about 9oz
1 tsp mixed herbs – optional
1/2 pint vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock if you prefer)
left over cheese, milk or cream to taste
Method
Fry the onion, garlic and potato over a low heat until softened.
Add the mixed herbs and broccoli and mix around until coated with the oil / butter.
Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 12 minutes until the broccoli is cooked.
Remove from heat, cool a little and blitz in the blender with some crumbled cheese (I used about 2 oz because that is all I had) – feta, stilton, caerphilly or boursin would be good!
You can add cream or milk until you get the desired consistency – we like soup to be like thick puree, but you can water it right down if you prefer.
It probably won’t need salt with the cheese, especially if you use feta, but add black pepper to taste.
Spinach soup
Ingredients
butter or oil for frying
1 small, chopped onion – about 3oz
1 med potato, chopped – about 5oz
1 clove smashed garlic – optional
1 bag spinach; stalks removed – I think mine was about 150g
1 tsp nutmeg or mixed spice
1/2 pint vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock if you prefer)
cream (double or single; it doesn’t matter)
Method
Fry the onion, garlic and potato over a low heat until softened.
Add the spice and spinach and mix around until coated with the oil / butter.
Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
Remove from heat, cool a little and blitz in the blender with as much cream as you dare! (Substitute milk for the cream if you like – I’ve made this with soya milk and that works too)
What about you – do you have any favourite soups to share? Especially ones that make the most of using up foods that might otherwise be thrown away please!
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Tags: recipe
ooo yes ! Lovely stuff, nothing quite like making and eating home made soup ( and that feeling of smug squirrely satisfaction when you look at all the little containers in the freezer ) The tinned and carton stuff just can’t compete !
I make a flexible ” Green Soup ” in pretty much the same way. The ingredients vary according to what I have on hand but do start off with both onion and garlic ( lots of each ! ) chopped up and sautee’d very gently in a little oil or butter or mixed. I usually put in a little chopped rosemary and/or thyme, sage from the garden. If I have leeks, I add leeks sliced thinly at this point. Ditto with celery – chop finely and chuck in. Add cubed spuds, veg stock and bring to the boil.
Then in goes everything else – broccoli if I have it, cauliflower ditto, peas, edamame beans, broad beans, courgette, kale, celeriac, chard, bit of turnip, if you have spinach and/or watercress, add it right at the end. Basically, if its a green or white veg, it can go in. Not necessarily ALL these things at once ( although you can if you like ! ) but whatever you have that needs using. Simmer until tender, I tend not to add milk or cream at that stage but I do usually add some cheese, and I blitz 3/4 of it and leave a 1/4 chunky. I might serve it with a dollop of yoghurt and some fresh chopped parsley, or a scrap more cheese grated/crumbled on top.
The beauty of this soup is its great for not-wasting and infinitely adjustable according to your stores and the seasons. Use up those broccoli stalks, dont throw them away ! same with the cauli core and ribs and leaves. And the last handful of peas or what have you from the freezer.
These sound great, thanks for sharing.
xx
Your recipe sounds lovely, Greenlady – I like the idea of keeping to green and white food for a good colour (rather than the brown stuff that I ended up with LOL!)
I too like the stalks from things. I seldom remember to throw in that last handful of frozen veg; I need to keep that in mind for next time – thank you!
Glad you approve, Denise. Enjoy!