Broccoli, Asparagus, and Pea Soup

Green, green, green! This soup turned out so pretty and flavorful. What a perfect light dinner to have on a cold night.

I decided to make this soup because I had alot of veggies on hand that I wanted to use up. This soup is an adaptation of Michael Chiarello's "Very Green Broccoli Soup" recipe. The original recipe calls for broccoli, spinach, and celery as the green vegetables and it's finished off with some heavy cream. I changed it a bit and combined broccoli, asparagus, peas, and celery as my green veggies. Also, I added a little cayenne pepper towards the end to create a slight back-of-the-throat heat. I wanted to lighten it up, so I used skim milk instead of heavy cream. The soup was still nice and thick and I was really happy with the end result.

I started by melting olive oil and butter in a large stock pot. I added the garlic and browned it for a few minutes. I then added the onion and celery and cooked them until they were soft; about 5 minutes. I then added some dried thyme, salt and pepper. Let me tell you, after tasting the final product, the thyme is VERY important. It really makes the soup.

After adding all the vegetables to the pot, I brought it to a boil and cooked the veggies until they were tender.

Next, I pureed the soup in a blender, then returned it back to the pot. I seasoned it again with salt and pepper and decided to add some cayenne as well.

To top off the soup, I went with some crispy prosciutto, toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese. It's perfect with some grilled italian bread. Give it a try!