Brussels Sprout Soup: Perfect Comfort Food On A Cold Day

Brussels sprout soup was not on my agenda the morning I decided to make this. Actually, pretty much all that I cared about was getting dry and warm.

Picture this with me for a moment, if you will. It's a cold morning in Los Angeles, the city that should always be sunny and bright.

Except that it is pouring outside.

The streets are inches deep in rain water, and I am outside blowing in the wind with the dogs. 

By the time we get inside, I'm cold, my feet are waterlogged, and now the house smells like wet dog. 

Okay technically we've gotten pretty lucky so far :knocks on wood: that it hasn't rained much this season yet in Los Angeles, but the few storms we've had have been disgusting. Literally, ankle deep in water while outside. Gross. 

Anyhoo, here it is, a cold, wet, miserable day. Naturally I want to warm up. And I had been in the mood to make soup for a while, although Brussels sprout Soup had never actually occurred to me. Only, I had no groceries. 

Weathering the storm again to get groceries after I had literally just changed my socks for the third time that morning, seemed like one of the worst ideas yet.

So, what's a girl to do?

Open the fridge and stare into it with a blank expression hoping to find something to make, of course!

As luck would have it, I had Brussels sprouts that would go bad soon if I didn't cook with them, bacon that needed to be cooked, and parmesan. Hmm... should I dare? Brussels sprout soup? Is that a thing? Certainly, these three ingredients go together. Of course, what doesn't go with bacon?

Yup, it was decided.

So, off I went to salvaging what I had of the Brussels sprouts so they could roast while I cooked the bacon.

And by the way, bacon is one thing I kind of hate cooking. It tastes AMAZING, but for some reason the task of cooking it is always tedious to me. 

Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that half the time I am cooking it I am kicking the dogs out of the kitchen so they don't get splattered on, and the other half I am getting splattered on as the word, "ow" continues to echo through the house each time a bit of grease splashes up onto my hands.

But I digress...

The only thing I was a bit concerned about on this recipe was that I was mixing carbs with fats. For most of my recipes I try to choose only one or the other to aid in weight loss.

And these days I am eating mainly zero carb because it really helps me have more energy, and aids in digestion as well as my SIBO symptoms. Of course, I felt a bit better knowing that the high fiber sprouts would lower the net carb count. As it turned out, this still ended up being a keto recipe since the carbs came from all high fiber veggies.

Once the main ingredients were added it was already pretty good. Although, something was missing. I added more butter, of course.

I mean seriously, when is butter not a good thing?

Then I proceeded to pull out everything that roasted sprouts go with, along with some things it doesn't just to see what I could add to bring in more dimension to the flavor. 

I literally had a baking tray out, and was pouring things like honey, balsamic, fig, ginger, and so forth onto different sections of the tray, then dipping the spoon in the pot, and then dipping that into the flavor of choice, and testing it out. Somehow, I landed on ginger, nutmeg, and walnut oil of all things. 

I will say that white wine would probably go well in this Brussels sprout soup, but I didn't have any in the house, and seeing as how it was raining outside... well, I think you know where I am going with that. To try it, just replace some of the broth with the wine.

Oh...one more thing before I provide the recipe. These pictures represent the first recipe I photographed with my new camera!!!! I'm clearly very excited! Learning the craft of food photography has been an incredible journey that I only just started, but these pictures represent my very first time using a DSLR camera. So exciting!

Prep Time: 35 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Additional Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (24oz) Fresh Brussels Sprouts

• 3-4 Medium Cloves (11g) Garlic

• 3 Cups Water

• 1 1/2 Knorr Beef Bullion

• 1/2 (4.83oz) Medium White Onion, minced

• 1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream

• 1 - 1 1/2 C Fresh Ground Parmesan

• 8 Slices Bacon (more if you desire)

• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

• 1/2 C (1 stick) Unsalted Butter

• 2 tsp Walnut Oil (optional)

• 1/8 tsp ground ginger

• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)

• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Prep

1. Cook your bacon ahead of time. Then chop once cool enough.

2. Cut your onions into small enough pieces that you can place in the processor.

3. Prep your brussels sprouts by cutting of the ends if you desire. This is not necessary, however. Put a bit of oil or bacon grease onto the sprouts and then throw them into the oven on 375 for around 15 minutes.

4. You are only trying to soften them.

5. Melt your butter (optional).

6. Mince the garlic.

7. Set aside 1/4 cup of the 3 cups of water and place the bouillon into it.

8. Dissolve the builoon in the hot water either in the microwave or over the stove, and ensure it dissolves fully.

9. Once dissolved, you may add that 1/4 cup to the rest of the water.

Veggies

1. After the sprouts have cooked and softened for 15 minutes, pull them out of the oven and let them cool briefly.

2. Place the sprouts, onion, and garlic into the food processor and mince/puree until smooth.

Cook

1. Place the newly combined and pureed veggies into a stockpot.

2. Add in all other ingredients and stir until there is a smooth consistency.

Eat

1. Pour into a bowl.

2. top with additional bacon, sprout leaves, and walnuts as desired.

3. Enjoy!

Notes

Ingredient Brands

• One Knorr bouillon (large rectangle) is equivalent to 2 bouillons for any other brand – so if you aren’t using Knorr, then you will want to compensate.

• I use the Land O'Lakes Brand for the Heavy Whipping Cream because it is Zero Carb

• The bacon used is due to its low fat content. For this brand and product, two slices of bacon is 5g of fat. The majority of other brands have a much higher fat content, so be aware of this when purchasing.

• The higher fat content will probably only add to the flavor, however if you are counting calories or macros, this is important to be aware of.

Prep

• To save time, you can throw the sprouts in the oven while you are cooking the bacon. I liked to cook a little of the bacon, then throw the sprouts in the pan to cover in bacon grease for the roast.

• Melting the butter is not required, but will help aid in the stirring when all ingredients get thrown into the pot.

Ingredient Volume

• Start with 1 C of Parmesan and add more as desired.

• Do not add the salt until you have tasted the soup first. The bouillon, bacon, and the cheese are very salty. It is better to taste first and see where the flavor is before adding more.