I have kind of a sweet deal with my flatmate Peter. I do all the cooking, he does all the washing up. But this also means that, as we mostly eat our main meal together at home I have to eschew a few ingredients that Peter can’t abide: brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and cucumber. And I LOVE all of those things. Anyhow, yesterday I cooked up a whack of fabada for him to, well eat, and also freeze for future solo lunches. So that was his cosy winter lunch sussed for today and I decided to give in to two of my favourite veg: cauliflower and broccoli.

I first made this soup during lockdown and found it sooo comforting but forgot to write it down. It’s simple and with very few ingredients, but today I also forgot (because it’s been so long!) that I used to add a small diced cooked potato to the mix to give it a bit of texture, so I steamed that separately after everything else was ready to go and added it. I also used these cute mini broccoli and cauliflower as it’s just for me. I reckon it’s no more expensive than having most of a massive and cheaper cauliflower rot in the fridge. ANYHOW. To make it totally vegetarian swap chicken broth for veggie broth, for vegans just omit the yoghurt topping. The sourdough croutons add great crunchy texture.

Ingredients and instructions below…

• 300 gr cauliflower florets
• 300 gr broccoli florets
• 1 small diced potato
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 ml chicken stock (2 cups)
• sourdough croutons (optional)
• strained greek yoghurt or sour cream

Break up the broccoli and cauliflower into small florets, set aside with diced potato.  Add olive oil to a medium sized skillet and toss in the onion and garlic and black pepper, sautée on medium heat until the onions are a bit translucent. Add the veg, stir it around, cover it and lower the heat. Let the veg slow steam for about ten minutes.

Heat up the chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a bubble. Add the veg, lower heat, cover and cook for another ten minutes. Let cool a bit and then purée it up with a stick blender.