Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds broccoli
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion
1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery
Gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
5 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups packed spinach

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream or buttermilk (if using buttermilk, cut the lemon zest in
half)

Directions

Cut the broccoli florets from the stems. Peel the tough
outer skin from the stems and trim off the fibrous ends. Cut the stems lengthwise into
slices about 1/2-inch thick and then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the
garlic and cook until light brown. Add the onion and celery, lower the heat to medium, and
season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables slowly until tender, about 10 minutes.
Regulate the heat so the vegetables cook without taking on color.

Add the thyme and stir. Add the broccoli stems, stock, and salt and pepper, to taste, and
bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for about 3 minutes. Add the florets and continue to
cook until very tender, about 5 minutes more.

Puree the soup in a blender in small batches. Add some of the spinach and some of the

lemon zest to each batch and then puree it. (The soup can be made to this point, covered,
and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Return the soup to the pan and reheat over gentle heat. Stir in the cream. Taste and
adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Chef's Note: When I plan on finishing a dish with the addition of a dairy product, as I do
here with cream, I often add a dairy product early in the cooking, too, as I do with the
butter in the initial cooking of the vegetables. It melds the flavors.