Packed with a ton of healthy herbs and veggies with a contrasting swirl of sour cream infused broccoli, this soup is as hypnotically delicious as it is hypnotically fun to look at!

It's also ridiculously easy to make and is the perfect addition to any cool spring evening meal and even better in the fall when the air starts to turn crisp.

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

The first thing you'll need to do is gather up your ingredients.

You'll need:

2 cups red cabbage, diced
2 cups purple potatoes, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced (I love the red carrots we pick up at our farmer's market but any type is ok.)
1 cup fresh broccoli, diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced or crushed
1 tablespoon fennel seed
3 cups vegetable broth (can substitute chicken broth as well), divided
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of parmesan cheese for final garnish

You'll also need:

Large stock pot
Smaller pot
Stick blender, regular blender or a food processor
Squeeze bottle
Spoon
Knife
Cutting board

Step 2: Starting the Soup

The first thing we need to do is make the base of our soup. In your pot over medium heat, sweat your onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

Add 2 cups of your broth, purple potatoes, fennel, and carrots. Bring the temperature up to medium and allow to cook for ten minutes or until your potatoes are fork tender.

Carefully add in your purple cabbage. It'll seem like it's too big for the pot at first, but as it cooks and releases moisture, it'll compact down into the rest of the soup. Trust me on this.

Turn the temperature down to just above a simmer and cover your pot. Let it continue to cook for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir it once every 5 minutes or so and keep an eye on the liquid level. If it gets too low, add a bit more. The last thing you want is scorched veggie soup.

Step 3: Making the Cream Swirl

While your soup is simmering, let's make our green cream swirl.

In your smaller pot, steam your broccoli with about 1/4 cup of water until tender.

In your blender or food processor, pulse chop your broccoli.

Add your sour cream and continue blending until you end up with a smooth paste. You want it to have the consistency of thick yogurt. If it's still too thick, add a teaspoon of vegetable broth at a time until it's the consistency you want.

Transfer this to a squeeze bottle with a narrow tip and set aside for now.

Step 4: Blending the Soup

By now the veggies in your soup should be well acquainted and ready to party. Blend the whole mess down into a thick purple paste.

Thin it out a bit by adding in the remaining cup of broth we reserved from earlier. I like to add in 1/4 cup at a time until I'm happy with the consistency. For a thicker soup, add less broth. For a thinner soup, add more. It's not rocket science.

Now is also the time to add your salt and pepper to taste. A few pinches of salt really helps elevate the taste of the whole dish!

Step 5: Serve Up and Enjoy!

Serve up your soup hot and with a swirl of the green broccoli cream we made earlier and top with a pinch of fresh grated parmesan cheese.

I also love to serve this alongside a few slices of thick crusty bread slathered with butter to dip in.

And as you can see by the second photo, it's a perfect dish to add to a creepy Halloween feast! Rather than make a swirl, I used my broccoli cream to draw some magic symbols and served it alongside some fresh, warm voodoo bread.

Mmm...hypnotically delicious!

If you want even more unique and strange recipes, swing by my main Instructables page or check out my horror themed food blog, The Necro Nom-nom-nomicon.

Bone appetite!