Broccoli and white bean soup with lemon and parmesan
40 min · 17 g protein · 296 cals / serving
A thick, bright green soup where creamy white beans do the job of cream: half of it is blended smooth and the rest left chunky with tender broccoli florets. Lemon zest, garlic, a pinch of chili and a snowfall of parmesan make it taste rich and lively at once.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large stalk celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 heads (1 1/3 lb) broccoli, florets, stalks peeled and sliced
- 2 cans (15 oz each), drained cannellini beans
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 1/2 oz baby spinach
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 4 tsp lemon juice
To serve
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan, or a vegetarian hard cheese
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery for 6–7 minutes until soft and lightly golden, then add the garlic and pepper flakes for 1 minute.
- Add the broccoli, beans, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer 10–12 minutes until the broccoli stalks are tender.
- Stir in the spinach for 1 minute until it wilts.
- Scoop out about a third of the florets and set aside. Blend the rest of the soup until smooth, then stir the florets back in. Add the lemon zest and juice and taste for salt.
- Ladle into bowls and finish with the parmesan and an extra grind of pepper.
Good to know
Can I use frozen broccoli?
Yes. Add it straight from the freezer and simmer 6–8 minutes. Frozen florets are a little softer, so blend all but a handful.
How do I keep it bright green?
Do not overcook the broccoli and add the lemon only at the end; acid that sits in the pot for a long time turns green vegetables olive.
Is it vegetarian?
With vegetable broth it is, as long as the hard cheese is made without animal rennet; traditional parmesan is not, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Skip the cheese and it is vegan, at about 87 instead of 84.
Per
- Calories
- 50
- Protein
- (24%)
- 3 g
- Fat
- (25%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (51%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 264 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1183 kcal goes into the pot and 2494 g of ingredients comes out as about 2350 g of food: 50 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.