Prepare vegetables:

Dice the onion. Peel and mince the garlic.

Dice the celery. Peel and dice the carrot. The more finely the vegetables are chopped, the faster they will cook.

Chop 1 lb/450g broccoli into florets and cut tender portion of the stems into small chunks.

Steam the broccoli until barely fork tender, set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp/30ml olive oil in a medium to large (2qt minimum) heavy bottomed pot on medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring regularly for 7-10 minutes until just starting to caramelize. Does not need to get fully browned.

Add the white beans, mustard, thyme, and pepper. Stir to coat everything.

Add the broth. Stir to loosen anything stuck on the bottom of the pot.

Cook for 15-20 minutes until vegetables and beans are very soft. Cook time will depend on how small the vegetables are diced.

Remove from heat. Add half the steamed broccoli (particularly stems) and blend until very smooth.

Add the remaining broccoli and blend until desired consistency is reached. Blending exclusively florets last lets you leave some in large pieces for a chunkier soup.

If using an immersion blender: Blend in the pot until very smooth. If using a standard blender, allow to cool before blending in batches. Return to pot and reheat.

Add nutritional yeast and salt to taste.

Make charred florets:

Preheat oven to 425°F/220 C. Line a baking pan with parchment.

Toss the broccoli florets with 1 tbsp/15ml olive oil, ½ tsp/1g ground black pepper, ½ tsp/3g salt, and 2 tsp/3g nutritional yeast.

Roast for 15-20 minutes until charred on the edges.

Serve on top of the soup with ground black pepper and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

This soups stores well. Perfect for freezing in serving size portions to be reheated later.