Work at home: the broccoli soup experiment

After a couple of rounds at work of turning a 20-pound box of broccoli heads into a box of pretty florets, I got concerned about the waste that arises from this task. I mean, everyone likes the florets best, but there are still pounds of good, edible broccoli in those stems that are going in the trash. Chef says we don't keep them for other dishes, and I was distressed at tossing out so much food.

At my last job, we kept vegetable leavings in the freezer until we'd accumulated enough for stocks, and the broccoli stems were kept separately for making broccoli soup. I mentioned the idea of making broccoli soup from trimmings to my current chef and she invited me to take the trimmings home to experiment with.

The amount of broccoli coming through our kitchen is not huge, probably giving us enough trimmings to make broccoli soup once every couple of weeks, unless we made smaller batches and served it more often.

This week, I tried my first recipe for this experiment:

Broccoli Stems Soup
approximately 6 quarts

about 2 pounds broccoli stem pieces (just the tender stems, tough woody parts cut off)
1 cup broccoli buds (the tiny little green buds that end up all over the cutting board when I'm cutting broccoli florets, which I scooped up and saved separately)
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
4 cups water
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
5 cups unsweetened soy milk (I'd use dairy whole milk if I were at work)
1 Tbsp butter (I added this for finishing after tasting the first time, not necessary if using cheese)
optional: 2 cups shredded cheddar or cubed American cheese
vegan option: use 4 cups vegetable stock instead of chicken bouillon with water and use margarine as the finishing fat

Boil vegetables in water until tender. Puree in blender. Add milk, bouillon, pepper, butter and simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli buds during last minute or two of cooking. Add salt if needed. Stir in cheese until melted (if using) or pass cheese at table as a garnish when serving.

Notes to self: don't add the milk and then go knit in the next room and forget about the soup. It was foamy on top when I got back because it hadn't been stirred and had boiled. Also, don't forget to add the pretty green broccoli buds next time.