For those of you who love broccoli, you will be happy to know the peak season is finally here! That means the nutritional value and flavor will be at its best. Always purchase broccoli that has a light green stem and tight, vibrant heads that are dark green and even purple in color for the freshest vegetable.

This soup is low fat, vibrant and creamy without using cream or any dairy. However, if you want to add unsweetened almond milk (in place of the water) to this recipe, I’m sure it could bump it up to the next level. For garnish, a slice of orange and a dollop of Greek yogurt or toasted slivered almonds with a drizzle of your favorite olive oil would be a nice addition to your dish.

3 medium sized broccoli crowns, cleaned and cut into similar size
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
32 oz vegetable or chicken stock (low sodium)
2 cups water
1 orange zested and juiced
Additional salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, fill 1/2 way with water, bring to a boil and add two tablespoons of Kosher salt. Add the broccoli including the stems and cook for 5 minutes over high heat. In the meantime, fill a large bowl with ice water. Drain the broccoli and place into the ice bath to set the color and stop the cooking. In the same pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, salt and pepper, cook for 10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic and ground cumin and cook for an additional minute. Add the stock of your choice along with the water to the pot. Bring up to a simmer. Drain the broccoli and add it to the pot. Cook at a simmer for an additional 10 minutes until the broccoli is fork tender. Remove from heat. Blend the mixture by either using an immersion blender or regular blender (do not overfill your blender with the hot liquid, it can result in injury, not to mention a huge mess to clean up). Once fully blended and creamy, stir the zest and juice of the orange into the soup. Adjust for seasoning. Garnish and serve.