I was recently in Puerto Rico 
and had a wonderful dinner in a beautiful garden, neatly tucked away in Old San Juan. For my appetizer, I ordered the broccoli 
soup. It was an unusual choice for me, but they said it was fabulous so I gave it a try. It was hands down on of the best soups 
I’ve ever had.
I told our server I had to have the recipe. The chef 
said it was broccoli, water, and some spices (clearly NOT a recipe.)
Back in CT, I had a jumbo bag of broccoli florets on the branches (no bulky main stems) so I figured I’d give it a whirl. This is not as good as the one I had there, but it is a great dish for Meatless Monday.
In salted water bring 4 small heads of broccoli (not the bulky stem, just the branches, and florets) to a boil and cook until fork-tender. Do not over boil or it will turn an unpleasant color.
Put the cooked broccoli and 2 cups of salted cooking water (or 1 cup cooking water and 1 cup of vegetable stock) into a high-speed blender. Purée until creamy.
Into the blender add:
2 TBSP olive oil
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
A few large pinches of salt
A generous sprinkle each of both black pepper and red pepper flakes
Purée a bit more and serve, hot or cold. You can top it with non-dairy cheese or a dollop of plant-based yogurt and a side of toasted, crusty bread.
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