Soup has been a popular meal at our house these days, we are eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This Zucchini Soup with Roasted Brussels Sprouts has been one of our favorites.
If you’re not into soup or have been thinking about adding it to your weekly meal plan but think it may be too much work (like I use to think), here are a few reasons to give it a try:
- It makes a big batch. This soup will feed the four of us for at least two meals AND, I can usually get two lunches out of if for our girls. If you add in the roasted brussels sprouts, it becomes a hearty and satisfying meal.
- It is filled with veggies, nutritious bone broth and roasted garlic…all great ingredients to boost the immune system during these darker, colder months.
- It is worth making the night before to come home after a day’s work to have it already made and ready to go.
- It freezes well so can be made and tucked away for another day.
- It is easy to modify to meet dietary restrictions and certain taste buds (i.e. adding more carrots, onions, spicy oil, etc).
This soup is modified from a great cookbook called Soups and Sides by Catherine Walthers. If you are looking for some new ideas, then try out some of her recipes.
You can also try out my Hearty Carrot, Cabbage and Beet Soup which we have also been enjoying this fall.
But…in the meantime, here’s the recipe for our favorite combination – Zucchini Soup with Roasted Brussels Sprouts. This soup can be made vegan by substituting the bone broth for water…although, I highly recommend using bone broth for it’s nutritious and healing properties.
Psst…if you haven’t signed up to join us in our 7-Day Freedom From Sugar Family Challenge coming up on Saturday, December 10…do it now!
Zucchini and Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 leek
2 organic carrots, peeled and chopped
3 organic zucchini, washed and chopped
4 cups chicken bone broth
3 cups water
Salt and pepper
2 lbs of fresh Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup of avocado oil
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Wash your hands.
- Prep the Brussels Sprouts by trimming off the ends, removing discolored leaves and cutting them in half.
- Once prepped, lay them out flat on a cookie sheet (may need to use two sheets) and coat with the avocado oil (using your hands works best).
- Place in the oven and cook for 35-50 minutes, flipping once or twice.
- To make the roasted garlic – cut the top off an entire clove of garlic, exposing the cloves. Keeping the whole clove together, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil so that it is fully covered.
- Place the wrapped garlic in the oven and bake for around 40 minutes, or until the cloves are soft. Remove and allow to cool once cooked.
- Once the Brussels sprouts are golden and crispy, remove them from the oven and sprinkle generously with Celtic sea salt.
- For the soup: Heat a large soup pot over medium heat with olive oil.
- Add in the onions and cook for 3 minutes.
- While the onions are cooking, wash and cut the leek. To do this, cut off the green ends of the leek. Cut the leek in half starting from the end and moving the knife towards the bulb BUT do not cut into the bulb. Take the leek and rinse the layers under cold water, allowing the water to run through all the layers, removing the dirt.
- Shake out the water and return the leek to the cutting board. Chop into small pieces and add it to the pot.
- Cook the onions and leeks for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Then add in the chopped carrots and zucchini and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add in the bone broth and water, salt and pepper.
- Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes.
- Remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze out each clove of garlic into a food processor, blender or add it to the pot if you are going to use an immersion blender.
- Add the soup in batches to the blender and blend until smooth. Once done, return to the pot and keep warm.
- Serve the soup in individual bowls topped with roasted Brussels sprouts stacked in the middle.
- Enjoy!