I recently found this recipe for Broccoli soup on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. It looked simple and I’m always trying to fit more vegetables into our diet. I was surprised at how easy it was to make and how delicious it tastes. Danny enjoyed it so much he didn’t even require chicken as a side. This is huge because Danny ALWAYS requires meat of some kind with dinner or else he accuses me of trying to starve him.
The recipe from Peas and Crayons is good but the instructions are hard to read. I also added some corn to the soup and feel that you can easily add any other vegetables you like.
Ingredients
- One bunch of fresh broccoli (2-3 cups)
- 1 cup of shredded carrots
- 1 cup corn (optional – could be replaced with any vegetable of your choice)
- 1 cup white onion, chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 3-4 TBSP all purpose flour
- 3-4 TBSP butter
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of white cheese (I used Asiago)
1. Chop broccoli, onions and garlic. Shred carrots if not already shredded.
2. Add your vegetable (or chicken) stock to a pot on medium-high heat, add broccoli, onion, garlic, corn carrots, and bay leaf. Simmer on medium, covered, for about 15-20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
3. Once the broth is done, start your roux. In a large pot, melt butter on medium heat, whisking constantly. Once melted, slowly add flour as you continue to whisk. The amount of butter/flour can be determined by preference. For a thicker soup, use the extra tablespoon of each (i.e. 4T).
4. Remove from heat and slowly pour in the broth from vegetable mixture and stir to incorporate.
5. Pour in the vegetables and slowly stir in 1 cup of half and half.
6. Return to the burner on very low heat, uncovered. Spoon out the bay leaf and season with the above herbs and spices, adding a little extra of whichever you like to taste. (Note: I like a lot of flavor and the spices stand out at the 1/4 tsp amount, if you want less spice use 1/8 tsp)
7. Once the soup has warmed back up, stir in the grated cheeses and remove from heat immediately.
8. Serve and enjoy. *
*Danny recommends having bread on hand for dipping
CarrieDaway 