Tuesday Soup

Tuesday Soup is something I invented on a Tuesday night, believe it or not. It was also the Tuesday when we didn't win the Mega Millions lottery and its economical ingredients firmly put us in our place as less-than-billionaires. I brought a leek home from the grocery store, pulled some aging broccoli and celery out of the fridge and started chopping. It all went into a pot with butter, smashed garlic, parsley and chicken broth. This was my reminder that you truly don't need much else to have a winning soup on the table in an hour. A fresh loaf of bread (the reason for making the soup in the first place) and a beer rounds this meal nicely. It's nothing fancy, but it's kinda healthy and a good middle-of-the-week dinner.

Tuesday Soup

Ingredients

1 T. butter

1 large leek

1 large head broccoli 

2 stalks celery

2 large or several small cloves garlic

Several sprigs parsley

5 c. chicken stock (or water, or combo)

Lemon slices, for garnish (or lemon pepper is nice, too)

Kosher salt

Pepper

Directions

Thinly slice the white and light green parts of the leek and rinse thoroughly. Cut off the large broccoli stems, thinly slice and add to the leeks. Chop the florets to small chunks and set aside. Chop the celery and add to the leeks and broccoli. 

Heat a stock pot to medium heat, then add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the leeks, broccoli stems and celery and a good toss of kosher salt (1-2 tsp. depending on your taste). Saute for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and slightly browned, with brown bits on the bottom of the pot. 

Smash the garlic cloves with the back of a knife and add those to the pot. Let them sizzle for a few minutes until very fragrant. Add the broccoli florets and parsley sprigs, followed by the stock/water. The liquid should just barely reach the top of the veggies and look fairly snug; you don't want swimming vegetables. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Check with a fork for doneness - the large chunks should be very tender. 

With a blender (or immersion blender), puree the soup until smooth. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. 

Serve with a squeeze of lemon (to taste), or a swirl of yogurt or sour cream. Crispy bacon or homemade croutons would make nice additional garnishes! Better yet, serve with a fresh crusty loaf of bread or grilled cheese sandwich.