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Winter green soup (cruciferous vegetables soup)

A creamy soup with cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. It is low-carb, vegan and easy to make.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients 
US | M

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 large leek trimmed and halved, white parts thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme plus more to taste
  • 12 oz Brussels sprouts ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed, sliced into small disks
  • 12 oz broccoli florets from 1 medium-to-large broccoli
  • 27 oz cauliflower florets from 1 large cauliflower
  • 5 1/2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 small bunch parsley roughly chopped
  • 1 1/3 cups raw cashews
  • black pepper to taste
Serve with (optional)
  • sour cream or creme fraiche or a vegan alternative
  • cashews roughly chopped
  • fresh herbs such as parsley and chives

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Then stir in leeks, salt and thyme and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the leeks soften.
  • Add brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower florets. Mix with the leeks and let vegetables cook and sizzle for about a minute. Pour over the vegetable stock, just until all the vegetables are mostly covered. Set temperature to high heat to bring soup to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cover the pot with a lid.
  • Cook (maintaining a simmer) until the vegetables are tender, around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove soup from heat, toss in the parsley and cashews and keep covered for a few minutes.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it's completely smooth (you can also puree it in 2-4 batches by using a food processor.) Once pureed, taste the soup and adjust the seasonings to your taste.
  • Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream, cashews and chopped herbs.
    Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Use all the vegetables: Because you are pureeing this soup, you can use parts of vegetables that you otherwise might not use. If your cauliflower or broccoli have nice, fresh looking outer leaves chop them and throw them in the pot along with the florets. As you trim the cauliflower or broccoli stalks, only remove the very ends and any weird looking parts and chop up the rest for the soup. The stalks add a nice creamy texture to the soup.
Alternately, you can also chop the leaves and stalks and freeze them to use whenever you’re making vegetable stock.
While I give pretty exact measurements for all the vegetables, feel free to adjust the quantities, depending on what is available to you. This is a great soup to use up leftover greens and other vegetables.
Cashews are completely optional, but add such a creamy texture that you should definitely try adding them, in case you’re not allergic or have a sensitivity to nuts. 
Alternatives that make the soup extra creamy: sour cream, soy creamer, coconut milk.