1
Dice the onion finely,
Chop the broccoli into inch or so chunks,
Dice the bell pepper to a medium size (1/2 inch or so)
2
Melt butter in a frying pan, on medium heat. Once it's melted, add the onion, whole bay leaf, and salt. Sauté until the onion is mostly translucent.
3
Into a large pot, add the broccoli, green bell pepper, water, and sautéed mixture. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the broccoli (even the stems) are very tender.
4
Remove the whole bay leaf, and add the milk.
5
Then, purée the soup. I find using a handheld immersion blender works wonderfully, but you can also do this with a regular blender or food processor, a bit at a time. Blend it to your desired chunkyness. (For me, a few large bits of vegetable here and there was pretty good.)
6
Mix in the sour cream and spices - the first time you make it, make sure to get the spices right, they make the whole dish!
7
Heat the remaining mixture over low to medium heat (not too hot with all that dairy!), but to the point of a bit of steam seems to work well.
8
Serve hot, and enjoy!
9
Notes: The taste in this soup is superb - it just seems to me like each bite has a taste so interesting it makes me want another one -- and by the time I'm done with the bowl, I'm full, warm, and happy.
Carrot (puréed) might also work well in this soup. Moosewood reccomends keeping back 1 cup of broccoli, and using it finely sliced and steamed as a topping, but I just tossed it in, and it worked fine. You can probably even add more broccoli than those 5 cups without problem.
