Behold a soup to fit all your needs!

• Easy, one-pot meal
• Light and satiating
• Green
• Creamy
• Utterly delicious

I make several versions of what I like to call the household green soup. My only criteria is that it must be delicious and stand on its own as a meal. This is one of my favorite versions.

The flavor base here is broccoli, ginger, herbs, and lemon - a solid flavor pairing. Cashews are cooked in the soup right alongside the broccoli to make it a complete meal by contributing protein and good fats. The added bonus, as many of you already know: cashews blended with liquid = rich + creamy sauce or soup.

For easy clean-up, I prefer to blend this soup with a hand blender. Though you could use a standing blender, I find the hand blender works just as well. Just remember to blend 1-2 minutes longer than you think you need to in order to reach this extra smooth, creamy consistency. The final touch is to stir in halved sweet and juicy cherry or grape tomatoes - a tip I picked up from Kellie. It's a humble addition but the burst of juicy freshness takes this soup to the next level. Go ahead and try it yourself, you'll see!

Ginger Lemon Broccoli Soup

Serves 6
Notes: When I call for a head of broccoli in my recipes, this implies the use of the whole vegetable - the florets and the stalk. The stalk is as nutritious and delicious, and it's a waste if we don't use it. Simply use a knife to slice off the dry end and to peel away the dry, woody outer layer of the stalk (if necessary) before cutting into pieces.

• Knob of coconut oil
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 medium-large heads of broccoli (665 gr. / ~1.5 lbs. or 0.7 kg.), roughly chopped
• 1 cup (145 gr) raw cashews
• 5 1/4 cups (1.2 L) water
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt + black pepper to taste
• 20 gr herbs (half cilantro + half mint), leaves + tender stems of cilantro
• 2 thumb size (33 gr) piece of ginger, peeled (~ 4 cm or 1 3/4 in. length)
• Juice from 1/2 - 1 whole lemon (I used 3/4 of a lemon)
• Couple handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Saute onion and garlic in a large soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add broccoli, cashews, water, and salt. Cover, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Pick mint leaves off of tough stems and tear cilantro in half. Add to pot, grate in ginger, and squeeze in lemon.
4. Puree with a hand blender until smooth and creamy. You might need to puree soup for another minute longer than you think necessary in order to obtain the thick, creamy consistency.
5. Stir in cherry tomatoes to warm through and serve!