Broccoli Kale Lime Soup
Just as I was about to jump off the kale bandwagon — am I the only one suffering from kale fatigue?–I found myself in the Denton Kroger mindlessly tossing a bunch of the oh-so-trendy green curly stuff into my cart. It was a snow day, after all, and what’s a snow day for if not to act impetuously?
I also placed just one small bag of my favorite store-bought cookies into the basket, which by the time I found my way to the cookie aisle, was overflowing with green, healthy things. So you understand how this happened.
A word about these cookies. They could be the next speculoos spread. They are that delicious. And they are also that much unlike anything we have in the U.S. Chewy, honey-filled (or caramel – I figured the honey ones would be better for me) bite-size cookies that demand to be eaten with coffee.
I ate my first ones six or seven years ago, while on a train from Paris to a small town in Germany. I was en route to a spa weekend and I guess felt like I needed to splurge on the way there. (Full disclosure: I also packed a couple of bottles of wine and chocolate, too, in case the food was awful, which it was.) So, the honey waffle cookies — a new discovery I’d made in a grocery store in my neighborhood and bought for the train ride– were my last great snack that particular weekend, and when I returned to Paris, I’d find them at the Starbucks and have them with my afternoon coffees, which, as you can see, was exactly what I should’ve been doing with them.
I realize I’ve veered quite a bit from kale, but this is how these things happen, the link between Dutch waffle cookies and the kale at the Denton Kroger store. As I pushed my squatty double-decker cart through the spacious aisles, I began to feel the rumblings of what I can only describe as joy. I found LU Le Petit Ecolier cookies in three different chocolates. And in the housewares section, just one aisle over from where I spotted Societé Roquefort, small white bowls in two sizes, called “footed bowls” on the tag, but in fact were very café au lait.
Suddenly I felt very at home in my hometown, because it had managed to transport me back to the place I also call home. (I know. It’s confusing to me, too.)
That afternoon, I had coffee and ate honey waffle cookies while the snow began to melt on the sidewalk. Then I made this soup and shared it with my oldest and dearest friend.
Broccoli Kale Lime Soup
Makes a whole bunch of soup (8 servings)
- 1 cup of quinoa, uncooked
- 2 cups of vegetable stock
- 2 bunches of broccoli crowns
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- ¼ cup of chopped onion
- 6 cups of vegetable stock
- 1 bunch of kale, leaves removed, chopped and rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon of cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of garam masala
- a small handful of cilantro
- zest of 1 small lime (about 1/4 teaspoon)
- sea salt and cracked pepper
1. Cook your quinoa. Bring the 2 cups of vegetable stock and quinoa to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for about 15 minutes, then let cool slightly so the quinoa can absorb the rest of the liquid.
2. Separate the broccoli florets and remove the outside layer of the broccoli stalks with a vegetable peeler. Set the trimmed broccoli aside.
3. Put the coconut oil and onion in a stockpot and turn the heat to medium. Let cook until the onions are translucent. Add the broccoli, the rest of the vegetable stock and 6 cups of water. Let this come to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the broccoli cook until you can easily pierce it with a fork. Then add the kale, the spices, zest and a pinch of salt and pepper. Carefully blend the soup and return to the heat. Add the cooked quinoa to the soup. Taste for seasonings and serve right away — with naan bread on the side if you’ve got it.
