In collaboration with Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele.
It’s that time of year where the days are lengthening and brightening, but there’s still that cool Spring breeze and occasional snow shower reminding us that winter isn’t quite finished with us yet. Hot soups are still desired, but not the thick heavy comfort soups of the dark winter months – I’m craving lighter soups, spring soups, nourishing and vibrant soups.
This broccoli and watercress soup is a firm family favourite. I’ve been making it for years and my children call it ‘green soup’. There are never any leftovers. The ingredients? Vibrant fresh seasonal broccoli, cool crisp watercress and… would you believe it…. a Grana Padano cheese rind!
We’re Grana Padano fans in our household, and nothing gets wasted. When all the cheese has been grated off the wedge the rinds get popped into the freezer to be used in soups at a later date. Simply add the rind along with the stock and it will dissolve as the soup simmers, imparting a gorgeous delicate cheese flavour to the soup that isn’t heavy or overpowering like a lot of broccoli cheese soups can be.
To jazz up this recipe I’ve served the soup with some Prosciutto di San Daniele sourdough tartines (a posh French word for an open-topped slice of bread with a sweet or savoury topping). Just remember to take out your Prosciutto a half an hour before serving to allow it to reach room temperature for maximum flavour, trust me, this makes a big difference in the taste of the cured meat.
The soup and the tartines really work well together for a light, yet satisfying, lunch.
This broccoli and watercress soup recipe is a really quick and easy soup to make. My husband and I have teamed up again to bring you a recipe video to show you just how easy it is. Press play below to watch it!
Grana Padano is a medium fat hard Italian cheese with a rich, but not overpowering, flavour, perfect for a lighter springtime soup.
Around 1000 years ago, in the Po Valley in Italy, the Cistercian monks built Chiaravalle Abbey and began cultivating crops and rearing livestock. Food preservation techniques were not as advanced then as they are now, and fresh milk quickly went off. In a bid to help preserve surplus milk the monks developed the cheesemaking process that resulted in Grana Padano cheese. This technique preserved the nutritional properties of the milk, and the flavour only improved with maturation.
Prosciutto di San Daniele is produced only in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, in the hilly area around the town of San Daniele in the north-east of Italy.  It is made solely of the carefully selected meat of pigs born and bred in Italy and sea salt, dried by the winds blowing down from the Carnic Alps and the breezes coming in from the Adriatic Sea. It is a natural food product with no additives or preservatives of any kind.
Both Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, meaning that when you buy these products you can guarantee they were produced to the highest standards in their respective regions. Be sure to look out for the PDO mark when making your purchases.
Broccoli and Watercress Soup with Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele Tartines
Ingredients
for the soup
- 50 grams butter
- 250 grams broccoli florets
- 180 grams leeks finely sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 85 grams watercress
- 1000 ml vegetable stock
- 1 Grana Padano cheese rind only
- 250 ml double cream
- freshly grated nutmeg to serve
- Grana Padano cheese to serve
for the sourdough tartines
- 4 slices sourdough bread toasted and cooled
- olive oil
- 100 grams Prosciutto di San Daniele room temperature
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Instructions
- Remove the Prosciutto di San Daniele from your refrigerator and bring to room temperature for half an hour.
- Melt butter in a heavy based soup pan over a medium high heat. Cook the broccoli florets, leek and garlic for 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Add the watercress and cook for a further minute.
- Add the vegetable stock and the Grana Padano cheese rind.
- Turn the heat down to medium and pop the lid on the pot. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender.
- Puree with a hand blender until smooth and then stir in the double cream.
- Drizzle a little good quality olive oil over a piece of cooled sourdough toast and top with Prosciutto di San Daniele.
- Serve immediately with freshly grated nutmeg and some extra Grana Padano cheese sprinkled over the top of the soup.
Notes
This is a commissioned recipe for Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele, although, as always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.
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Review: Our Top Five Foodie Picks
I love broccoli soup and with the hard cheese it sounds absolutely irresistible.
My family and I love soup, but it’s too hot to serve in the summer. I love this idea. I had no idea you could eat the cheese rind. This probably sounds really stupid to you, but what exactly is the rind made of? Is it just cheese that has hardened?
Yes, it’s just made from the cheese that’s air dried in the curing process so it dissolves completely in the soup! 🙂
This looks absolutely incredible! I could eat this all day long! I love broccoli soups!
Yum! Right up my street and the video makes it looks so easy. I’m a massive soup fan, so this is going on Pinterest to try later. I don’t eat meat, but I did note the tip about allowing it to get to room temp. Useful to tell the carnivores in my life! x
oh this is so my kind of meal! i love soup but sometimes crave a little more with it so this sounds perfect!
That sounds absolutely flipping delicious! I love broccoli!
The soup looks absolutely delicious and that’s such a great way to use up rinds!
Looks so delicious. Can’t wait to start making this dish. I think this item will go great during the dinner. Thanks for such unique recipe.
I love soups and this just sounds so delicious! It’s Summer here in Manila and it’s scorching hot. I will bookmark this recipe and try it in colder months of the year.
Oh my goodness. This looks absolutely AMAZING. I am so in love with this meal that you’ve prepped. I am going to try this soup. I am not a big fan of broccoli, but this looks amazing.
I need one of these cleansing soups right now! I’ve been kinda bad with my eating habits lately and really need to get serious! I also love watercress so much! I don’t see it used i many recipes, so it makes me so happy that you made this soup 🙂
I love that recipe! It sounds so delicious and I also love the green color. It’s not that difficult to make, I can definitely prepare this for me and my husband one of these days.
This looks amazing! I love the combination of cheese and broccoli and putting it together in a soup with watercress? YUM! I’m definitely keeping the recipe.
Get in my belly!! This looks seriously delicious and perfect for lunch or even dinner. I am going to have to try this one night.
I love making fresh soups! Mostly because they are easy enough for me to do, but I do enjoy them! My kids will eat them too.
That sourdough bread looks delicious. I am a huge fan of broccoli soup as well, but only when it is made vegan. 😛 This recipe is easily veganised though!
How good does that Prosciutto look! I’ve never thought about a broccoli and watercress soup but it sounds delicious. Will def be giving this a go
This looks so delicious and makes me wish i have the ingredients to make it. It is such a simple recipe but made with top notch ingredients.
On another hand, i sure wish you were my neighbor. I would love to have those delicious smells wafting to my house
I can’t believe something that sounds this fancy would only take 25 minutes to cook. I’ve never used a cheese rind cooking soup before, so I’m excited to try something new.
Wow, i should share this recipe to my boyfriend and let him try it too! Adding broccoli makes me want to slurp them all up 🙂
Looks very good. I need to try this before it gets too hot here for soup which will be very soon thanks.
This broccoli watercress soup sounds amazing. I am going to have to make this soup for sure. We love broccoli and creamy soups so this fits our desires. The Prosciutto I have not had literally in years so I will have to pick this up too. Thanks for sharing this delicious meal idea.
I love broccoli soup. And then to add the prosciutto to go along with it…. making me hungry right here is all I can tell you.
This looks so healthy and good. I’d love a bowl in my tummy now!
This soup sounds tasty and healthy, I’m trying to eat better. I want more fruits and veggies in my diet.
This soup looks beautiful!
Straightforward and delicious soup and the touch of the toasted bread with Prosciutto is an excellent choice. The video is fun to watch. Thank you,
This looks yummy! I bet my daughter would love this. She is obsessed with broccoli anything lol
I love grand padano cheese such a wonderful taste and texture. I bet it tastes phenomenal in the soup and broccoli is one of my favourite veggies x
This looks so amazingly tasty! Not the best to read when I am really really hungry. I must go and make this now!
Oo I am drooling. This looks so delicious. I need to try and make this. Prosciutto is also a favorite of mine.
Wow, this sounds amazing! I love souls and can’t wait to try this one
This sounds like a great soup to eat in the springtime. I’m going to Pin this for later!
This soup sounds phenomenal I can’t wait to make this for my family.
This is such a beautiful soup! I want to eat it up! I am going to make this for my family soon!