BROCCOLI AND CHEESE SOUP WITH BARLEY

I have made many friends through blogging and one of my favourite ones is Paz from The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz and Paz's New York Minute; she is kind, she sends me encouraging emails now and then and she always comments even though I am the lousiest of commenters. She is also a keen photographer and now you can buy some of her best photos as postcards with New York motifs over here and please do! She doesn't know I am writing this but she is always so modest that I feel that I have to do this, otherwise this golden opportunity may pass by without noone knowing it!

Soup again and broccoli soup again. I am forever on this voyage towards the ultimate broccoli soup and this is one of my stops on my travels. This soup was just what I needed the other day, broccoli, barley and a lot of cheese, Sardinian pecorino to be exact; few but nice ingredients that each contributed to the overall flavour and texture.






BROCCOLI AND CHEESE SOUP WITH BARLEY
2 servings

1 broccoli stalk with florets attached (I obviously don't know the right term here...)
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
3 tbslp barley
500 ml/2,1 vegetable stock. Add more if needed
3 abundant tblsp (or more) grated pecorino cheese
1 pinch ground cardamom
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Cut off the stem, peel it and slice it thinly. Divide the rest into small florets.
- Heat up some olive oil in a pan, add the sliced broccoli stem, the garlic, barley and cardamom and leave it to cook for about 3-4 minutes. Stir often.
- Add the stock and let it simmer for 10 minutes before adding the rest of the broccoli.
- Go on simmering for another 10 minutes. You may have to add more stock.
- Before serving, add cheese and check salt.



Some broccoli soup recipes here on Lucullian, for more see the recipe index:

HOT BROCCOLI AND WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH ROSEMARY
COLD BUT HOT BROCCOLI SOUP WITH TOMATOES AND CHILI PEPPER
BROCCOLI AND GREEN SPLIT PEA SOUP