Easy Healthy Broccoli Soup with Rosemary Flatbread

We are checking back in with our new friends Butter Vixen and Sugar Daddy as they continue in their epic quest to eat healthfully and cheaply for a week with a minimum of waste. Part of Butter Vixen's commitment is to eat a great big serving of cruciferous vegetables every day. These vegetables have health benefits (like cancer fighting) that routinely help them score in those endless lists of "wonder foods."

Here Butter Vixen turns that leftover chicken carcass from Sunday's roast chicken into a pot of delicious homemade broth to use as a base in Broccoli soup. This is broccoli soup esentiale: it focuses on the earthy goodness of broccoli itself, but does not include all that artery clogging cheese that typically clogs American bowls of broccoli soup. While we at the Skinny Gourmet know that occasionally a little artery clogging cheese can be a wise indulgence, why not give this healthy and easy recipe a try for a wonderful, quick week night dinner?



That's just what our Butter Vixen did. On Day 2 of her adventure she had a fruit smoothie & coffee for breakfast, cereal and milk for Sugar Daddy. For lunch they both enjoyed the leftover latin-inspired citrus chicken with rice & beans. So for dinner it was time for a little Broccoli soup and rosemary flatbread.

Read on for Butter Vixen's account.

Making broth

During the day, I turned my happy chicken into some lovely broth. After Sugar Daddy stripped the rest of the meat from the bones, I dumped the carcass with all the skin into my soup pot. I filled the pot with water up to the level of the top of the carcass, then threw in chunks of veggies saved from last week (broccoli stalks, the shriveled carrots from the bottom of the package that froze in the bottom of the bin, etc). I added some celery and a big onion, and threw in some peppercorns and salt. The chicken was well-spiced, so I didn’t do anything much. Once the mixture came to a boil, I left it to simmer for 3-4 hours. Drain, and voila! Garbage becomes broth!

Broccoli Soup

By the Butter Vixen
(makes 6 servings)

1 lg. onion
1 lg. head broccoli
4 to 6 cups chicken broth
Olive oil

Slice the broccoli stems into thin pieces, and break the florets up into manageable bites. Saute the onion and broccoli stems until very soft and onion is nicely browned. Put stems and onions into blender with some of the chicken broth. Blend until smooth. Return to pan, add florets. Cover and simmer until florets are done the way you like them (5-10 mins). Add more broth if you want to make the soup thinner. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grated parmesan, or a wedge of nice smoked cheese.

Rosemary Garlic Flatbread

By the Butter Vixen
(makes six servings)

1 t. yeast
1 c. warm water
2 to 4 c. flour
1 t. salt
Olive oil
1 T. Rosemary leaves
3 cl. garlic, cut into slivers
Kosher salt

Let yeast stand in warm water 5 mins or until dissolved. Add 2 c. flour and the salt, beating until smooth. Keep adding flour until the dough is stretchy and smooth. Pat into a ball, drizzle olive oil over it, and let rise in a warm place 45 minutes or until doubled in size. When dough has risen, punch down, and form into an oval about 1 inch thick. Push fingers into the dough to give it a nice uneven texture so it pools the olive oil. Push the garlic slices into the dough, sprinkle with rosemary and Kosher salt. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.