broccoli mushroom soup — Roasting together my two favourite vegetables to create a beautifully deep and flavourful bowl of green goodness

**prep time** 25 mins
total time 30 mins
**serves** 4-6

Using two of my favourite vegetables, broccoli and mushrooms, this soup recipe is one that my sister said is one of the best soups she has ever had! Similar to my tomato soup recipe, I roast the vegetables to bring out a depth of flavour. Broccoli and mushrooms are even tastier when they are roasted, and it’s even more delicious if you cook them until they start to crisp up!

I made this recipe zero waste by cooking and blending the broccoli stems into the soup, rather than throwing them away! They can be a little tough to enjoy roasted (though I have done this before), so boiling them into the soup means you can’t taste them, and you get extra goodness with less food waste.

With the final additions of nutritional yeast and lemon zest, this recipe will be one you keep coming back to again and again.

All you’ll need is:

1 large broccoli
200g mushrooms
6 garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 onion
1 leek
1 carrot
1 litre veg stock
Half a bag of spinach
Zest and juice of a lemon

To serve

1/2 cup coconut or vegan cream
Croutons
Olive oil
Chives

Begin by roasting the broccoli and mushrooms in a roasting tin for 20 minutes with a generous drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Save the stems of the broccoli and set these aside.

Roasting the broccoli will help them to crisp up, while roasting the mushrooms will draw a lot of their moisture out, making them extra delicious. If you aren’t a massive fan of mushrooms, this way of cooking them may be a good place to start, but equally, you can leave them out and swap them for another favourite vegetable.

While the broccoli and mushrooms are roasting away in the oven, create the base to your soup by frying the onions, carrot, leeks, and garlic in a pan with some olive oil. This is key to add the depth of flavour to the soup that makes all the difference in the end result.

Once they’re softened after approximately 10 minutes, add the vegetable stock and the broccoli stems. Bring this to a boil and simmer for the remainder of the time that the broccoli and mushrooms are roasting in the oven (5-10 minutes). In the last minute or two, add in your spinach and allow to wilt.

You can take this recipe a step further in waste reduction by making your own vegetable stock from the ends and scraps of vegetables.

Before we blend everything up, I want to share a quick and easy way to make croutons while you prep your soup. When the vegetables are ready, take them out of the oven, set aside for a moment in a separate bowl and turn the grill on. Re-use the roasting tray and add some torn up or chopped chunks of bread. Drizzle over with olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Add back into the oven and allow to crisp up under the grill while you blend up the soup and serve. Check on it after a couple of minutes and toss to turn. This shouldn’t take long, just a few minutes to toast!

Now while those croutons are grilling, it’s time to blend everything up! Add half of the roasted broccoli and mushrooms, the juice and zest of a lemon, along with the soup broth into a food processor or blender (or use a hand blender) and mix everything until smooth. If you prefer an entirely smooth soup, feel free to blend all of the roasted broccoli and mushrooms, but I love the addition of these to top the soup as it makes it feel more special.

Serve up in bowls, topped with the other half of roasted broccoli and mushrooms, grilled croutons, a swirl of coconut milk or vegan cream, and a sprinkling of chives.

INGREDIENTS

1 large broccoli
200g mushrooms
6 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 leek
1 carrot
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 litre veg stock
Bag of spinach
Zest and juice of a lemon
1/2 cup coconut or vegan cream
2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast

To Serve
Croutons
Olive oil
Chives

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Chop up all of the veg, saving the broccoli stems.
In a large roasting tin, add the broccoli (without the stems) and mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil and season. Then roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until browned and water has evaporated.
Meanwhile, in a large pan, fry the onions, leeks, carrots, and garlic until softened for around 10 minutes.
Add in the broccoli stems and the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the broccoli and mushrooms are ready. In the final few minutes, add the spinach and allow to wilt.
If making croutons, when the broccoli and mushrooms are ready, remove them from the roasting tray and set aside. Turn the oven to the grill setting and chuck in chopped up or torn chunks of bread into the roasting tray, toss with salt and olive oil, and grill for a few minutes, tossing to turn.
While the croutons are toasting, add half of the roasted broccoli and mushrooms into the blender, along with the soup broth, lemon zest and juice, and nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth.
Serve in bowls with a swirl of coconut or vegan cream, topped with the remaining broccoli and mushrooms, croutons, and chives.

notes

Leave out the croutons and instead enjoy with some fresh soft bread!
Try this recipe with other vegetables that you enjoy or that are in season. Other examples could be courgette, aubergine, kale etc.