Broccoli With the Bathwater

Looks unassuming, but there's a ton of flavor here.

I made this soup a few days ago without the intent of posting about it, but it's just too good not to. This is by far the tastiest broccoli soup I've ever tasted—and there's no cream in it. No cheese, either. (Of course, you can put some in, if you want, but it doesn't need it.) Without further ado...

A Creamless Broccoli Soup

15 min. prep time. 35-40 min. cook time. Makes about 16 cups.

Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped ribs of celery, 3 chopped carrots, 7-8 chopped scallions, and 3 tbsp. whole grain mustard or whole mustard seeds. Cook 8-10 minutes, until the onion starts becoming translucent. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Deglaze with 1 cup of white wine. Add to the pot 1½ lbs. chopped broccoli, 1 peeled & chopped sweet potato (definitely not a yam), 4 c. vegetable broth. If the vegetables aren't covered with liquid, add enough water to cover. Stir, lid, and bring to a boil, then turn down low and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sweet potato is very soft. Turn off the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, then puree.

As you can see, if you read my post last week, this covers a number of items on Alton Brown's "diet" lists: broccoli, carrots, whole grains, sweet potato. Hooray for healthy, tasty eating! For more bang-for-buck, eat your soup alongside a spinach salad.

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Title inspiration: Baby With the Bathwater is a comedy (?) by Christopher Durang. Premiered at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 31 March 1983, featuring Tony Shalhoub (of the t.v. show Monk). (Yes, that's William H. Macy in the photo. He was in the original Off-Broadway run.)