Cream of broccoli soup with black sesame and watermelon seeds

This recipe has done the rounds with my friends, who have taken to falling back on this when they have a busy or very fun week with barely a green thing on their plates. Inspired by an Ayurvedic cookbook I’ve had for years by Amadea Morningstar, it is a real back-to-basics soup recipe, without any garlic, onion, sautéing or fuss. It is perfect for using up broccoli stalks – if I have a whole head of broccoli I favour the stalk first, then add enough florets to make up to 250g and save the rest for something like the Veg Masala for the Brain (see here).

The cashews or sunflower seeds are soaked to make them easier to blend, and you can choose to blend the soup to creamy or textured, depending on how you like it. Alternatively, you can add ghee instead. The flavour comes from the leeks, and the bright green colour looks fantastic with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds and some dehusked watermelon seeds for extra crunch.

Serves 2

250g broccoli (mostly stalks), chopped

¼ leek, sliced

250ml (1 cup) water

8 whole cashews or 1 heaped tbsp sunflower seeds, soaked for 1 hour and drained, or 1 tbsp ghee

½ tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

TO SERVE

extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

handful of dehusked watermelon seeds (I love Mello brand)

handful of black sesame seeds

1 Simmer the broccoli, leek and water until the vegetables are tender and bright green. Blend with the soaked cashews, and add the salt.

2 Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil and a generous sprinkle of watermelon seeds and black sesame seeds.

FEELING
VATA

Enjoy this at lunch rather than dinnertime. For dinner, make it a cream of pea or asparagus soup.