Broccoli and Tahini Soup

This is an original recipe I invented for one of the LiveJournal Vegan Cookoff challenges. You don't have to make the croutons and gremolata; the soup is very nice on its own.

Serves 4

For the soup:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• florets (about 250-300g, 9-10 oz) from 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• vegetable stock
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• black pepper to taste

For the gremolata:

• leaves from 1 head of broccoli
• an equal volume of flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

For the croutons:

• 12 thin slices (1/4 cm, 1/2 inch) from the interestingly-shaped part of the broccoli stem (see photo)
• olive oil
• salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and saute the onion for about 7 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chopped broccoli florets and stir briefly to let the garlic release its flavour into the oil. Pour over hot vegetable stock to cover, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until the broccoli has softened (the amount of time it takes will depend on how much stalk you left on the florets).

2. (Optional) While the soup is simmering, make the gremolata: chop the broccoli leaves together with the parsley until very finely-minced. You should end up with 2-3 Tbsp of the minced mixture. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil, and season well with salt. Set aside for the flavours to infuse.

3. When the soup has finished simmering, stir in the tahini, season with black pepper, and puree in the blender. Return to pan and keep warm.

4. (Optional) Make the croutons just before you're ready to serve. Heat a generous layer of olive oil in a small frying pan, until very hot. Season the broccoli slices with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and then fry them in the hot oil, turning once (I use chopsticks to do this), until lightly (or darkly!) browned, according to taste. The ones in the photo are done to my taste, which is well-browned. Drain them briefly on kitchen paper after taking them out of the oil.

5. To assemble the soup, pour it into four warmed bowls, balance the croutons on top, and drizzle over a little of the gremolata. Serve at once, with the rest of the gremolata in a small saucer for people to add as required, or dip their bread into.

Kake's (Vegan) Cookery Site - http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/
This page added 31 May 2006 (last altered 4 June 2006) - comments and questions to Kake L Pugh (kake@earth.li).