No Cream of Broccoli Soup

OMG, this was quick - and easy - and tasty! It was a great way to use up a small amount of broccoli from the back of the fridge, but could also be used for a bright, fresh addition from the farmer's market, too. Julia Child offered a cream soup base for her broccoli soup, but I used her onion and rice base with a tiny bit of yogurt instead. Thank you, Julia, for all your wonderful soup bases!

The ways this soup could be modified are endless; just add 1-2 servings of any vegetable that you'd want to take a starring role: carrots, leeks, fennel bulb, spinach, red pepper, parsley, beets, Swiss chard, potatoes.... We may try each of these in turn, week by week, to see which ones fit better than others.

No Cream of Broccoli Soup
(makes two servings - a littler one and a bigger one)

1 cup sliced onion
1 Tbl butter
1/4 cup raw white rice
2 cups water
1 small head broccoli
3 cups additional water
1 tsp salt
2-4 Tbl Greek yogurt or sour cream

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Saute the onions, just until they are soft and translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
• Add the rice and 2 cups water.
• Bring to a boil over high heat and cover.
• Lower the heat and let simmer for ~20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and falling apart.
• Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli by cutting the flowerbuds into small florets. Peel the stem and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
• Boil the broccoli in the additional water and salt until just done, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Reserving the broccoli cooking water, strain out the broccoli and let cool.
• Boil the reserved cooking water over high heat until reduced to 1 cup.
• Puree broccoli and onion/rice mixture together in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• Pour puree into the pot with the reduced vegetable cooking water, and simmer for 2-3 minutes to blend flavors.
• Remove from heat and mix in yogurt or sour cream to taste.