Creamy Broccoli Soup with Almond-Romano Pesto

Its trying desperately to snow outside, and my face is still glowing from the warmth of this delicious soup.  This is a hearty, yet surprisingly light soup with nutritional goodness in every spoonful.  Chocked full of veggies and then pureed, I would put this into the "Sneaky Chef" category of underestimating the sheer volume of green goodness inside.  There is just a hint of a kick to it, which makes my spicy-food loving husband even happier to have a 'vegetarian' meal.  Piping hot, crusty, French bread would have made an excellent accompaniment to this 'warm-your-bones' soup.  The fresh herb pesto is the finishing touch to this lively recipe. 

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Almond-Romano Pesto*
Ingredients:
6 c. vegetable stock [I used chicken, because that's what I had on hand]
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme [I used 1 tsp dried thyme, ground]
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 large potato, peeled and diced
4 broccoli stalks (2 cups of florets reserved) [I used one large head of broccoli]
1/2 lb spinach, stemmed [I used 1 box baby spinach]
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
pesto:
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, stemmed
1/2 c. toasted, sliced almonds
2 garlic cloves [I used 4]
1/2 c. grated Romano cheese
1/4 c. olive oil
salt/ pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat stock and keep it warm while preparing the soup.  Heat oil in a soup pot over medium -high heat and saute the onion until translucent.  Add garlic, salt, thyme and chile flakes, and saute until golden.  Stir in broccoli and potato; cook for several minutes. Add warm stock to cover, bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the broccoli and potatoes are just tender.
Stir in the spinach leaves and turn off the heat.  Cover and let the soup rest until the spinach wilts, then puree until smooth.  Reheat the puree, add cream.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Bring back to a gentle simmer.
Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a hard boil.  Add salt and reserved broccoli florets and blanch until just done and bright green (about 1 minute).  Strain immediately and plunge into a bowl of ice water.  Let them cool off, then strain and spread on a clean, dry towel to drain.  Set aside.
To prepare the pesto, place the parsley, almonds, garlic and cheese in a food processor and pulse to combine.  Add the olive oil and puree, stopping short of making it completely smooth.  Blend in salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup hot, with a swirl of pesto in each bowl, and garnished with broccoli florets.  [Note: my pesto did not 'swirl', it just plopped to the bottom of the bowl, so I mixed it in before garnishing...]

* Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz, 2001.