Joy the Baker

Broccoli Arugula Soup

February 17, 2010

Broccoli and Arugula Soup

I…

Hate:  diet soda.  Like:  water.  Love:  bourbon.

Hate:  skinny jeans.  Like: Jeggings (jean leggings people… jean leggings).  Love:  my Levis.

Hate:  bathing suit shopping.  Like:  vintage dress shopping.  Love:  shopping with someone else’s credit card… which never happens… ever.

Hate:  cold soup.  Like:  most soup.  Love:  um…. soup soup soup.  I really like soup.

‘Hate’ is such a strong word.  ’Hate’ was a bad word in the house I grew up in.  Mom, if you’re reading this… yes, you taught me better… but look!  I’m eating my broccoli!  That’s got to count for something.

Broccoli and Arugula Soup

Broccoli and Arugula Soup

This soup is pure and simple.  Green vegetables with a touch of spice and a splash of citrus.  I dolloped my soup with a bit of sour cream because… seriously?  Yum.

psssst… this soup is super filling too!

Broccoli and Arugula Soup

adapted from goop.com

makes enough for two large servings

Print this Recipe!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 head broccoli, cut into large florets, about 2/3 pound

2 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper, or season to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup arugula leaves, packed

squeeze of 1/2 lemon

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute.  Add the broccoli and cook for about 4 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green in color.  Add the cumin, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Add the water or chicken stock, lower the heat and cover.  Cook for about 8 minutes, until the broccoli has been softened. and is just tender.

Here’s the tricky part.  We’re going to blend the soup.  Working in batches, transfer some of the soup liquid and broccoli to a blender.  Add half of the arugula leaves and blend until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl or another pot while you blend the second batch of soup with the rest of the arugula.  Return to a pot over a low flame, check to see if it needs more salt or pepper.  Throw in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and serve.

This soup also freezes well!

Broccoli and Arugula Soup


80 Comments Add A Comment

  • I was thinking about broccoli soup. Do you have any idea what can I replace arugula with?

    • I just used some mesculin salad mix instead of arugula.
      I have to join others in saying that I love this soup. I find myself craving it even.
      I do not have a full blender, just a small black & decker handy chopper and put the broccoli in in batches and it works fine.

  • This sounds yummy! Instead of transferring to a blender, can I just use an immersion blender inside the pot?

  • I’ll try this as soon as my patch of rocket is edible again. Nothing like young fresh rocket picked from your own garden (or pot, in my case).

    Also, an immersion blender is the best purchase you can do if you blend a lot of soups. Just stick it in the pot and blend ahead. It saves you the transferring to the blender, and handling hot hot hot liquids at incredible speeds.

  • Oh, I love broccoli soup. We eat it here very often, the little ones enjoy it very much too. Nver tried it with aragula though. Sounds like a great idea for just a little more punch. thanks for the idea!

  • Jeggings RULE! A lifelong (or at least as much of my life as skinny jeans have been in style) hater of skinny jeans (they’ve always been too long on me…and tight…and not conducive to wearing post-a good dessert), I have finally found my way. I just bought a pair last week and I’m still walking around making people feel them: “They look like jeans, but they FEEL like leggings…see for yourself!” It’s a strange pursuit that is undoubtedly scaring anyone I encounter, but the invention ceases to amaze me.

    Enjoy the heck out of your jeggings and your yummy soup…

  • This looks delicious! One of my favorite soups is broccoli & cheese soup! I can only imagine how great the flavor of arugala is!

  • Ooh, what a nice way to eat broccoli.

    Soup is such a great meal, especially with homemade bread.I love the addition of sour cream too. Has to be done.

  • This looks like just the ticket – I’ve been feeling a bit low on the vegetable intake recently, thank you. Goop is good, isn’t it? Who knew Gwyneth was kinda cool?

  • Ooh I need to try this, it sounds gorgeous! Yum! :)

  • You are certainly on a near vegan streak this month! which is great since it is Lent and I need all the vegan cooking tips I can get :)

    I’ll make sure to give this a try..

  • This is a gorgeous soup! Broccoli soups are some of my very favorite soups.

    Laughing about the word hate. I was brought up not to say it either and I try to teach my children the same thing, but I find myself still saying it anyway, oh well!

  • So simple and delicious. I bet the arugula adds a nice spice to it.

  • So wholesome! Looking forward to winter so I can try this out.

  • This sounds very yummy! I love the deep green color :)

  • Sounds yummy!!! I LOVE arugula!!!

  • Hi Joy, I actually have made this soup before! I thought it was great & really recommend it. I like your addition of cumin. I didn’t even put in olive oil because I was trying to be super-healthy, but I bet it is much better with.

    I adore all your baking recipes, but I also love it when you share non-baking recipes too!

    :)

  • Arugula is such a wonderful, spicy green! I would never have thought to put it in a soup, but this sounds just fantastic!

  • You always introduce me to good websites. I like Goop.

  • I’ve just noticed that you have a “vegan” category. I am vegan and I can’t try most of your recipes but I really enjoy your blog (beautiful pictures, funny talk). Now I will enjoy it even more! Thank you for thinking about the vegans who read you, I am sure I am not the only one. (Should I say thank you to your parents, who are responsible for the hippie part of you who eats vegan food on a friday night?)

  • ive made this soup before as well and really liked it despite my aversion to arugula! i really dont like it on its own but it adds a great spicy peppery flavor & works perfectly in this soup!

  • A bowl of health! I love it. The color is outstanding.

    I can’t get enough arugula salad, but I never thought to look for a soup recipe with it. Excellent!

  • Sounds great, but I don’t know whether I will be able to find arugula: can I use something else instead?
    I love soups! And I really hated them when I was a child, so never worry, things do change sometimes.

  • I think I need this for dinner. After having pizza multiple days in a row, I need something green!

  • This sounds delicious. I will be trying it soon.

  • My word, this sounds scrumptious! I’m heading to the market this afternoon so I can make this. :-)

  • First of all, I’m thrilled to know there’s a woman out there who loves bourbon.

    I tend to roast broccoli florets in a high-heat oven with some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. If I did that instead of sauteeing the broccoli, it’d probably give the soup a deeper, more earthy flavor. Do you think it would be overpowering?

  • I love broccoli, but not a huge fan of arugula. I’ll have to try this anyway, since I don’t “hate” arugula and would put it in more of the “like” category. :)

    However, I do “hate” skinny jeans. lol

  • I made the Goop recipe a while back – I could only eat about one portion. Then I added some cream and grated in some cheddar cheese and I could eat the rest! Using stock and some seasoning is a good idea for that soup.

  • YAY for goop inspired soups! Hate was also a bad bad word in my casa growing up. My parents would practically punish me for using it (they still raise their eyebrows whenever they hear me say I hate something!)

    I love anything with arugula. I make an arugula and toasted walnut pesto that’s just to die for. And now I have to make this pretty soup…because i’ve been eating too many pancakes and cookies lately.

    ps: jeggings? really!? But aren’t skinny jeans just like thicker jeggings? :)

  • Just found this wonderful website a few weeks ago. The pictures are GREAT! And I love reading your messages. Have told a couple friends who enjoy cooking and baking to log onto you. Yours is the first email I open when it comes! Keep up the good work!

  • Saw this a hour ago, made it & I just finished lapping up every last drop–yum!! The cumin is a great addition. Thanks, Joy!!

  • Joy this looks simply D-lish! Here in Ottawa, Canada it’s freezing. This soup will be the perfect lunch to look forward to after a cold morning.

  • I try my best not to use the word hate, but sometimes it just slips out! That soup looks yum and I just love arugula! Never tried it in a soup though.

  • I like broccoli and I’d like to try this soup soon. Do you have any idea why some broccoli are bitter? I bought some one time and it was bitter???

  • I have broccoli in my fridge! Just might have to make this.

    I got a bottle of chocolate salt for Christmas and I am wondering if you’ve used it ever, or if you have any fabulous ideas or recipes I could use it for. (hint hint)

  • Looks totally like my sort of soup!
    Yum… :)

  • I hate skinny jeans too and LOVE soup! We have the foundation for a solid friendship! Oh and the credit card thing too..I know I would LOVE IT if I ever got to do it.:)

  • This sounds super yummy and soup is the best/easiest way I cang et my kids to consume a ton of veggies!

  • What a healthy and pretty soup!

  • I just bought a pair of jean leggings today! :)

  • Great soup, Joy! I made it tonight alongside potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream. Something deeply green to balance the oil in the pancakes, you understand. A fabulous dinner!

  • my boyfriend made this soup for me the other night, after i emailed him the link (hint, hint!), and it was delicious! we didn’t have any arugula (or rocket, as they call it here), so he used regular lettuce instead… but it tasted great anyway!

    oh, and he used an immersion blender and it worked out just fine.

  • I like broccoli, but LOVE arugula. This sounds very intriguing! Might just have to give it a whirl. ;-)

  • How refreshing to find a use for arugula that is not a salad! I love arugula, and equally love yoghurt, so I made this soup and had it with a huge dollop of no-fat yoghurt. Smooooth….

  • Made the soup this morning; delicious! http://prp.tumblr.com/post/502461141

    I added a diced potato before the broccoli (love them carbs) and served it with bacon bits on top and grilled pita bread. So so good.

  • I tried that diet on Goop too! Way to hard, but the soup was one of the best parts. Try the pea and basil combination. It’s just as easy to make as the other soup and has a slightly sweeter flavor.

    -Jaclyn @ stayinthelines.blogspot.com

  • LOL hate was/ is a bad word in my house growing up and I would allow it in my house now… Hey I am getting old LOL

    This soup looks fab, but I think my children will revolt.
    Will still have to try and see what happens

  • I just adore broccoli ??
    I often ask mom to make any dish with broccoli as main ingredient XD
    now this recipe sounds delicious & I’m thinking of making it by my self ^__^
    thank you Joy,,

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