Raw Broccoli Soup with a hint of Cumin

To accompany dinner last night we had a raw broccoli soup that I flavored with a touch of cumin. I like raw broccoli recipes since they are more nutritious than cooked dishes. This soup was born from that notion. I added cumin since broccoli and cumin work so well together. When you are making raw soup with onion and garlic they can quickly overpower the flavors of any dish. Some onions and garlic have a more powerful taste than others. I always start with less than I think I need and add more if necessary. Here is what I did.

Raw Broccoli Soup with a hint of Cumin
Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

1/8 – ¼ peeled raw yellow onion
1 small or ½ large clove garlic, peeled
½ cup walnuts
3 cups water
6 cups broccoli florets
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon wine vinegar (or substitute fresh lemon juice)
Lemon wedges, for garnish and finishing - optional
Flaked smoked sea salt, for garnish and finishing - optional

Directions:

Combine the smaller amount of onion, garlic, with walnut and water in your blender and process until smooth. Add the broccoli, salt, pepper, cumin and wine vinegar and process again, until completely smooth. Taste the soup to see if it needs more onion, garlic and seasoning and adjust as necessary. Blend the soup until it begins to warm slightly (about body temperature).

To serve garnish with a sprinkle of flaked smoked sea salt for color and texture and include a lemon wedge to squeeze over the top of the soup. Both of these are optional but I think they add to the dish.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 214.13
Calories From Fat (54%) - 114.59

Total Fat - 13.71g
Saturated Fat - 1.34g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 397.06mg
Potassium - 769.65mg
Total Carbohydrates - 18.51g
Fiber - 10.85g
Sugar - 4.95g
Protein - 11.91g

Comments:

This is another one of my quick and ridiculously nutritious dishes. I enjoy this quite a bit and could it eat it every week. My hubby is not a big fan of cool or cold soups other than gazpacho. He will eat this, but has to fuss about it a little. I always remind him of the healthfulness of this soup and that is usually enough to get it to disappear. Something tells me he enjoys fussing, not that I pretend to actually understand men (or man in this case).

Each serving of this soup is packed with nutrition and contains approximately 3,200IU of vitamin A, 175mg of vitamin C, 205mg of calcium, 230mcg of folate, 250mcg of vitamin K, 230mg of phosphorus, and 90mg of magnesium. Aren't these amazing nutritional stats for a small bowl of soup?

Unrelated note:

Last night we had another later dinner, which seems to be our normal. I am still experimenting with veggie loaf recipes so last night we had a quinoa and black bean loaf. My veggie loaves are definitely improving but the texture is not quite right yet. As soon as I perfect the proportions to get the appropriate texture I will post the recipe. We had the veggie loaf topped with sun-dried tomato marinara and served with a baby spinach, grape tomato, cilantro and macadamia and pine nut ricotta that I dressed with wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Today I have more research to do and errands to run. I will be back later today with at least one more recipe, possibly more since I still have a backlog to post. I also need to replenish the refrigerator with more vegan cheese (for salads), sun dried tomato marinara (for raw pizza) and nut ricotta (also for raw pizza). If there is time I will be making seitan sausages for the freezer as well, flavor to be determined. It is definitely going to be a busy day at my house. I had better get my behind in gear or I will never get through my list.

I hope you all have a great day and I will talk to you later.