Ugly Soup

As we head into summer, I want to encourage everyone to start planning to make Ugly Soup next fall/winter. Ugly Soup requires months of planning, and while it IS ugly, it is also delicious. Plus, you will feel virtuous for reducing food waste.

I first made this soup because I hate food waste. I also hate eating broccoli stalks. So I started saving broccoli stalks in a bag (bags) in the freezer. When the bag reaches critical mass, I throw the stalks in a pot with some cubed potatoes and water, and heat it up. Okay, there’s a little more to it than that (see below), but not much.

The good news is that the stalks become tender as they simmer (preferably for hours). So save your stalks!

I’ve heard that we eat first with our eyes, so this soup could also be called Soup for the Blind. When you cook broccoli for hours with potatoes, the resulting color is not the best. I think of Oliver Twist and his gruel. Topping the soup with grated cheese and bacon, which makes everything better, improves the appearance of the soup, and doesn’t hurt the taste. I advise it.

Despite its appearance, this soup is amazingly comforting. You’ll be saying, “Please, sir, I want some more.” (Obligatory Oliver Twist reference)

I have tried to make this soup look better. I have added carrots, which gave the soup an even more unpleasant mottled appearance, but sure were healthy. I have added fresh broccoli crowns near the end of cooking, but found that it took far too many to affect the color in a positive way, and sort of defeated the purpose of using the stalks. I’m open to suggestions.