Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
Gosh oh gee but I have fun
Swallowing animals one by one
Category: Broccoli Soup
Soup It Forward Day
Today in National Soup It Forward Day. The purpose of the day is to remind us that when we make a big pot of comforting soup, share it with others. We are suppose to be encouraged to deliver soup to those in need, be it due to illness, down on their luck or going through something difficult. The concept is lovely.
Warming up with Broccoli-Carrot Cheese Soup
At long last, we have cold weather here in the valley. I’ve actually needed to break out the sweaters and keep stockings on my feet rather than walk about barefooted. Oh sure, the nights have been a bit chilly, but the days have been down right warm. Tee-shirt weather warm.
Continue reading “Warming up with Broccoli-Carrot Cheese Soup”
Broccoli-Cheese Soup in Sourdough Bowls
Are you keeping track? Today is day six of the forty-day Lenten Season. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a craving for a big, rich bowl of soup right about now. Just in case you are wondering about the chicken broth in a Lenten dish, according to Catholic Teachings the broth is a byproduct of an actual chicken, made from the bones and not the flesh, so it’s okay to eat. Wow, never realized how strange some culinary verbiage can sound – bones and flesh and what have you. Well at least we aren’t talking eye of newt or the hair of a wolf or some other strange sorcery concoction. At least not yet.
While Hubby will not eat a cheese soup, this is one of those exceptions. He likes the bread bowl, and loves broccoli swimming in a cheese sauce. This is a thinner, more flavorful spin on a Cheddar Cheese Sauce. I like mine with a nice glass of white wine.
Broccoli-Cheese Soup in Sourdough Bowls
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh ground Black Pepper to taste
4 7-inch sourdough bread bowls (round loaves)
4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)
1 large carrot, diced
1 1/2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup White Cheddar Cheese
Additional Cheese for Garnish
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the bread bowls: Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the top of each loaf, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Remove the bread top, then hollow out the middle with a fork or your fingers, leaving a thick bread shell. Set aside until ready to fill
Break broccoli into small floret pieces. Set aside.
Dice carrot into small pieces, set aside.
Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you’ll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender.)
Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Add up to 3/4 cup water if the soup is too thick. Ladle into the bread bowls and garnish with cheese.
Cheese Lover’s Broccoli Cheese Soup
Today is National Cheese Lover’s Day. It is really more of a suggestion to have something with cheese or to eat a platter of cheese than it is a particular day. For particular days, you’ve got Cheese Doodle Day in March, or Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day in April or even Cheesecake Day in July. There’s even an entire month dedicated to Goat Cheese. Today is dedicated to the pleasure of cheese any way you care to slice it. Have some cheese with your lunch or nibble on some cheese as a snack.
With all that room for interpretation, I got to thinking about how great it would be to enjoy a nice, piping hot bowl of cheese soup with soft, tender vegetables. Be it served in a soup bowl or a hollowed out sourdough round, you can’t go wrong.
Cheese and Broccoli Soup
3 cups broccoli florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces (reserving 1/2 cup for garnish)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup fresh carrots, shredded
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp all purpose flour
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (reserving 1/2 cup for garnish)
1 1/4 cup Asiago Cheese, freshly grated
Chop broccoli florets into bite-size pieces, reserving 1/2 cup of the florets for later.
Fill a large pot with the chicken broth, and 2 1/2 cups of the broccoli.
Peel and chop onions. Add to the pot. Grate carrots. Add to the pot. Press garlic into the pot. Bring mixture to a steady boil over medium-high heat, stirring every few minutes.
Cook for about 6 or 7 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
In a separate large pot, add the butter and flour. Whisking constantly over medium heat, create a roux.
Pour roux into the broth-vegetable mixture. Mix well.
Slowly add heavy cream in a stead stream. Reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer.
Add garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add both 1 1/4 cups of the cheeses and continue to mix until blended and the cheese has melted.
Place reserved broccoli into the microwave and steam until tender, about 2 minutes.
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with steamed broccoli and remaining cheddar cheese
Serve with warm bread.
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