He's Still an Asshole, but...

Gordon Ramsay has been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since my friend (and my drummer's best friend) Jess Cabo, a superstar in her own right, made it deep into the first season of Hell's Kitchen. Ramsay has made a living out of being an asshole...and I dig it! I especially love Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America, where I saw Ramsay make this simple Broccoli Soup using just broccoli, water and a bit of salt. Being a man of odd tastes (broccoli, Gordon Ramsay, need I say more?) I mentioned it to Spoon, who whipped it up tonight, dressing it, at Ramsay's suggestion, with a dollop of goat cheese.--F

I was a little skeptical--I like broccoli and am all for healthy soups, but broccoli soup? Cream of Broccoli, ok, but this sounded like a broccoli dish that backfired. But I love Fork a lot so I figured what the heck, worst case scenario we order Chinese and he does the dishes. Well, after making the soup and wiping a big bowl of it clean, we should rename this dish, because the ho-hum moniker really does not do it justice. It had the perfect consistency, and if you follow Ramsay's instructions--salt the water, salt the broccoli once it's in the water, and check for possible resalting once it's blended, the result is nicely seasoned and flavorful. And it's so simple. Three ingredients at its most basic, and that's including water and salt. With a new name, this soup might just make take off into more people's regular rotation.

Fork suggested we name it in honor of Ramsay himself: Asshole Soup. I think not.--S

Broccoli Soup

2 heads of very fresh broccoli
Kosher salt to taste
Olive oil, for garnish (optional)
Goat cheese, for garnish (optional)

1. Cut the florets off the heads of broccoli. Cut the stems into similarly sized pieces. Add all of the broccoli--florets and stems--into a large pot of rapidly boiling, salted water (2 tablespoons salt in 5 quarts of water). Cover and cook 3 1/2 to 4 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, put the cooked broccoli pieces into a blender. Fill blender about halfway with cooking liquid. Blend carefully since it's hot. Add more cooking liquid as necessary to achieve the desired consistency. Check seasonings.
3. If desired, add cheese (goat cheese or cheddar cheese) to the bottom of the bowl before pouring the soup in. Serve, drizzled with olive oil if you would like.

Recipe courtesy of Gordon Ramsay