Leek and broccoli soup

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Tuesday, 14 July 2009.

Ready In: 20 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2

One of those old-fashioned clear soups with lots of veggies so you can fill up and eat lean while enjoying a hearty warm bowl of hot soup. This one is high in fibre (good news for your bowels) with no added salt so kind to the kidneys as well. What a bonus!

Ingredients

2 cups salt reduced chicken stock
2 tablespoons white or quick-cook brown rice
1 leek, cleaned and sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Chopped fresh parsley
Sourdough bread rolls

Nutrition per serve

1358 kilojoules (324 Calories), 3 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat), 58 g carbohydrate (including 12 g sugars), 9 g fibre and 985 mg sodium. Read our nutrition rating system.

Directions

1. Bring stock to the boil in a saucepan and add rice. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook slowly for 5 minutes.

2. Add vegetables and herbs, cook for a further 5 minutes or until carrots are just tender. Season with pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley and accompanied by bread rolls.

Variations

In place of the broccoli, carrots, zucchini and celery, substitute any other vegetable - tiny florets of cauliflower, shredded cabbage, lengths of asparagus, sliced button mushrooms, fine shreds of silverbeet or spinach, or green peas.
In place of the leek, dice one brown or white onion.