Recipe Broccoli and Tahini Soup

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You need to use a tahini that you like with this soup. There's no point in using a bitter tahini you dislike because the tahini is prominent in taste.

Also this soup is great for using broccoli stems up. Just peel them if they are thick and tough. The blender will deal with most of the stem outer, just not the tougher sections.

Finally, I tend to make soups and stews earlier in the day, and allow them to cook in their own heat before blending, reheating and serving. It saves power and it saves overcooking, so my instructions include this option. This serves a generous 6 and it should be quite a thick soup.

Ingredients
1 tbsp canola oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and lightly crushed
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp dukkah
500g potatoes, diced
1 big bunch of coriander (leaves, stems and roots of available), about 80g
1kg broccoli, stems peeled, roughly chopped
1.75l veg stock
150ml decent tahini
Salt and pepper to taste
1tbsp dukkah to serve with

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and fry until softened. Add the garlic, fry for a couple of minutes. Add the turmeric and fry for a minute (if the turmeric catches on the bottom, add a small amount of water). Add the dukkah and fry for another minute.
2. Next add the broccoli potatoes and the fresh coriander and mix well, fry/saute briefly before adding the veg stock. You need to almost cover all of the veg, but not quite. Being to the boil and if you're cooking this for later, put the lid on and take it off the stove and leave until your ready to continue (it only needs 45-60 minutes standing time to cook from its own heat) or simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes soften and cook. Don't worry about the broccoli.
3. Cool slightly, mix several ladles full of stock from the cooking pot with the tahini and pour into the soup. Mix well.
4. Puree the soup in batches (leave 1 batch more chunky than the others for a little texture) and transfer to a clean pan (this is solely because it filled my blender jug 3 times over, so I needed a clean pan to put the soup into.)
5. Reheat gently and season if needed.

This recipe is taken from Persepolis by Sally Butcher