I love making soup. Love, love, love. Potato and corn chowder are near the top, but broccoli is probably the kind I make the most. Since I started making soup, I have also started making and freezing my own broth from leftover chicken carcasses. So cheap, plus the sodium level is insanely better (obviously, the only sodium is what you put in). I'll have to cover how I do it in a future post.
I also loooove rouxes, which I mentioned previously in one of my breakfast posts. They can make so many yummy things, and who doesn't have some flour, butter and milk in the house? With this cheese-y broccoli recipe, I tend to throw in whatever veggies I have in the house. Broccoli of course, but on the day I made the soup for this post, I also steamed some carrots along with my broccoli and threw some free spinach into the blender with the rest of the veggies. Also as an FYI, I most of the time I use frozen broccoli, since it's cheaper and all cut up. If you do that, you only need to do the boiling in step two for about five minutes.
Last little tip, whenever I do buy a big head of broccoli, I cut and steam the head, and save the stalk for making soup later in the week. Tastes a lot better pureed, and I then I don't have to feel bad about throwing away fresh vegetables. Normally this soup is a lot more bright green, but the spinach and carrot made it a little darker.
(makes quite a few servings, so think about halving this if you don't want to eat soup for a whole week)
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
4 cups broccoli, chopped
Dash of garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar
Slices of crusty bread
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, mix chicken broth, onion, broccoli, garlic
powder, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover,
and simmer 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
2. Remove bay leaves and pour mixture into a food processor. Pulse
until smooth, approximately 1 minute. Reserve in a bowl.
3. In the original saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, salt, and a
little pepper until a thick paste forms. Add milk and cook, stirring
constantly, until mixture thickens. Add cheddar; stir until it
dissolves.
4. Pour in broccoli mixture and cook until blended. If necessary, add
more chicken broth to thin. Season with additional salt and pepper.
Serve with bread for dipping.
Adapted from Parade: http://www.dashrecipes.com/blogs/dashboard/2011/04/24-Sunday-Dinner-Jodi-Picoult.html
That sounds lush!! Definitely one I'm going to try! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete- Ellie