Broccoli, Leek, and Turnip Soup

A warming winter soup with that steady-energy trifecta of fat, fiber, and protein

As I continue to dive deeper into my functional nutrition program and navigate my own health, I’ve been keeping one simple thing in mind: fat, fiber, and protein at every meal or snack. Why? Because it’s the easiest way to maintain good blood sugar balance—a non-negotiable (along with sleep and good digestion) for healing just about everything going on in our bodies. For fiber, you can always turn to your veggies and this soup is a great way to pack them in. In an effort to heal my gut, I’m also trying to add as much plant diversity to my days as I can pack in (which I find kind of fun—a daily challenge to eat the rainbow). In addition to probiotic foods, prebiotics are important here and broccoli, turnips, and leeks just so happen to be prebiotic produce.

I used to love making soups, but it’s been a while since I donned my hat as “soup queen” - a name I got from my coworkers at a restaurant I used to cook at. But recently, I’ve been inspired by all of the beautiful winter produce I keep stumbling upon. Last week I made a soup with Jerusalem artichokes, fennel, and green garlic. I didn’t write this one down or take a photo if it, but I’ll probably make it again now that I’m back on this soup kick, so this time I decided to actually write down how I made this nourishing, vibrant bowl (I love how bright a bowl of soup can get just from plants).

This soup isn’t vegan, but you can definitely make it vegan

I love adding chicken bone broth to my soups for extra protein and a flavor that, frankly, veg broth doesn’t quite match. But veg broth is still delicious! Or even water! So feel free to make it vegan and you can add in some tofu for extra protein if you tolerate soy. As I always say, play around with it and make it yours! The turnip adds a nice ever-so-slight hint of bitterness, but you can totally omit it. And the nutritional yeast adds a lovely, cheesy note to round it all out, but that’s not necessary here either. Nor is the cashew cream—I just had some left over and figured why not! I’d love to hear about your adaptations and if you notice a steady energy after a bowl with that blood-sugar-balancing diversity.

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This makes enough for one serving

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 cup of well chopped broccoli florets (you want these to be pretty tiny)

• 1 cup thinly sliced and chopped turnip (peel before chopping)

• 1/2 cup sliced leek (white part)

• Red pepper flake (optional for a bit of heat)

• 3/4 cup unsalted chicken bone broth (or sub vegetable broth or water and add tofu for some more protein)

• A few squeezes of lemon

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

• 2 Tbsp cashew cream (optional - to make a batch, just soak raw cashews in water for a few hours or overnight (stored in the refrigerator), discard water, and add 1/2 cup fresh water and blend in blender until smooth - can add more water for thinner cream)

• Salt to taste

• Pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional, but adding a bit of crunch really make a bowl of soup more satisfying)
  

How to make it

1. Heat olive oil in a pot or saucepan, add leeks and let soften over medium heat for a few minutes.

2. Then add broccoli and turnips, season with a pinch of salt and chili flake (if using) and let soften over medium-low heat (about 5-10 minutes).

3. Add broth and another pinch of salt and let simmer on medium-low for about 8 minutes.

4. Transfer to a heat-safe blender and blend until smooth.

5. Add lemon juice, cashew cream (if using), and nutritional yeast (if using) and blend again

6. Taste and add more salt if needed.

7. Transfer to your favorite bowl and top with whatever you’d like—more cashew cream, drizzle of olive oil, pumpkin seeds, microgreens