Just Broccoli (soup)

I watched an episode of Kitchen Nightmares where Chef Gordon Ramsay challenges a restaurant head chef to create a broccoli soup using any, all, or none of the ingredients on a sheet pan. At a glance, it looked like the chef would choose from broccoli (of course), celery, garlic, a wide array of spices and fresh herbs, fennel, and the list goes on. Chef Ramsay tasted the creation and then challenged the restaurant owner to taste Ramsay's own version, using just broccoli. REVOLUTIONARY. I admit, sometimes the Enchilada Mama over-doctors food. For example, I'll spare you my rather awful attempt at stir fry.

With this single-ingredient concept as inspiration, I set out to create my own interpretation of Chef Ramsay's broccoli-only soup. It was delicious, filling, and pure.

the music and shoes

Spacehog and Saucony running shoes (it's always the mid-'90s in my house)

the damages

large soup pot

chef's knife

cutting board

large mixing bowl

carrot peeler

fork

ladle

food processor

the ingredients

water

salt

1 large head of broccoli with stalk

pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

the preparation

Fill your soup pot about 1/2 way with cold water and large pinches of salt. Remember that good boiling water has the saltiness of the ocean. Since this water-salt combination will become the base of the soup, treat it with the same care you give to other prominent components. Use good water and good salt. I happen to like my tap water and Morton's salt. Good ≠ costly.

While that's coming to boil, use the chef's knife and cutting board to remove the florets from the stalks and divide the head of broccoli into golf ball-sized pieces. Set aside the florets in your mixing bowl.

When you've whittled down your broccoli to just the stalks, trim off what I call the "grocery store end" or the dried-out, lopped-off end of the stalk. The use your carrot peeler to remove the outermost skin of the stalks as well as any nubs where the florets attached. (These remain very woody and basically inedible, even after cooking. Trust me. Chew all you'd like; you're going to spit that bad boy out.) This process leaves you with just the vividly colored, lime-green, supple core of the stalk. Chop this into similarly golf ball-sized chunks.

When the water comes to a boil, drop in the contents of your mixing bowl and all the stalk pieces. Set the timer for 5 minutes. Fold a load of laundry. When the timer goes off, use the fork to test for doneness. Follow the same principle as when boiling potatoes: the broccoli is sufficiently cooked when your fork easily pierces the thickest part of a floret or stalk. Set the timer for another few minutes and repeat until the broccoli is fork-tender. Turn off the burner.

Use your ladle to fill your food processor to the line with broccoli pieces and a little water. Pulse briefly till the mixture reduces to a near-creamy texture. Pour the contents of your food processor back into the soup pot. Repeat this process until most, if not all, of your broccoli has been pureed.

Add a dash of crushed red chili flakes to the soup pot. Ladle into individual bowls.

SERVES FOUR broccoli lovers, which numbers more now than before this recipe AND FREEZES WELL once cooled and poured into zip-top bags.

tips and techniques

Since heads of broccoli can vary widely in size, follow this rule of thumb for proportions: approximately one cup of florets and stalks to one cup of water