Lemon Kale Broccoli Soup

Spring is in the air – which is a strange thing to find yourself saying in the middle of February in the Midwest – but it’s been 60 degrees and sunny for 3 days, and it seems the whole neighborhood has spring fever.  The park across the street from my apartment has been full of people for the past couple of days, and it’s been lovely to have the windows open most of the day again.

Last week, when we were still having typical Midwest winter weather (grey, cold, cloudy, and thoroughly depressing), I’d done my grocery shopping for this week with my friend Kennedy’s amazing Broccoli + Kale Detox Soup in mind.  (It’s become one of my all-time favorite soups, and you must try it sometime.) But this morning, with the sun warming the house – and some super-cute Meyer lemons hanging out in the fridge, just begging to be used for something – I decided to take Kennedy’s original recipe and give it a bit of a  summery twist.

Lemon Kale Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 cups broccoli, chopped
• 3 cups kale, chopped well
• 1/2 purple onion, diced
• 1/3 white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 small Meyer lemons
• 1 tsp parsley
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp dill
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Fill a large soup pot about 1/2 way with filtered water.
2. Add 3 cups of chopped broccoli; bring to a boil over high heat.
3. While the water is warming, chop the onions & garlic, and sauté in 1 tbsp of coconut or olive oil until the white onions are semi-translucent and the garlic begins to brown.
4. Add onions and garlic to the soup pot, and reduce heat to low.
5. Chop kale, and add it to the soup; adjust heat to ensure soup is simmering, but no longer boiling.
6. Slice both lemons in half, remove the seeds, and squeeze the juices into the soup.
7. Add parsley, oregano, dill, and pepper.
8. Stir, and continue simmering for about 5 minutes.
9. Serve with sunflower seeds and/or parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

What I Love About This Recipe:

• It’s really efficient: you can start cooking it while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients. Total prep & cooking time: about 30 minutes.
• Not only is it quick and easy to make, but it’s also healthy!

Notes:

• To add a bit more color and a variety of tastes, try using multiple kinds of kale – I used both Curly Kale and Lacianto Kale.
• Adding a lot of cheese can change the whole texture and flavor of the soup – I love cheese, so I highly advise loading this soup with parmesan and letting it melt in!  (Granted, this probably makes it a little less healthy – but oh my goodness… yum.)

Enjoy!