Cheddar and broccoli soup

Some broccoli cheese soups are more broccoli than cheese. I don't like that. If it claims to be broccoli CHEESE soup, I expect to see and taste more than just a garnish of shredded cheese. This soup delivers in the cheese department, rich, deep and flavorful.

I used a bit of dry mustard in this recipe. Dry mustard is spicier than regular mustard, its the ground mustard seed with out any vinegar or water added. Don't try to use regular mustard for the dry. Theres something about the way the dry mustard makes the cheese taste, it brings out the sharpness of the cheddar and is wonderful. There's also a few dashes of tobasco in this soup. Much like the dry mustard, tobasco helps the soup have a depth of flavor with out spicy heat, I mean after all theres about 1/4 t of tobasco to almost 6 cups of liquid, how spicy can it be?

Lastly I like to use the broccoli stems in my soups. They're filled with nutrients and fiber and its just so wasteful to throw them away in favor of their prettier friends the florettes. I simmer the stems in water and puree them so I get a lot of broccoli flavor in the soup, along with all the vitamins and fiber, but no one knows it in there. Witchcraft I tell you!

If you're looking for a soup that delivers big in the cheese flavor this is the one for you. If you like broccoli soup, this is the one for you! So pretty much unless you hate cheese and broccoli, you should like this soup. Enjoy!

Cheddar and Broccoli soup
makes 6 large servings
2 heads broccoli
4 c chicken stock
1 c milk
1 c water
1 onion diced fine
3 cloves garlic
3 dashes tobasco sauce
1/2 t dry mustard powder
pinch turmeric (optional, helps add yellow color to combat the green from the broccoli puree)
kosher salt & pepper
1/4 c butter (half stick)
1/2 c flour
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Prep veggies first, dice onions, mince garlic and reserve. Remove florettes from broccoli and reserve. Slice the broccoli stems thin (1/4 inch thick approx) and place into a small sauce pan with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and allow stems to cook. Once stems are cooked put them into a blender with 1/2 the cooking liquid and puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, heat a large soup pan over medium high heat. Melt the butter in the pan, once it stops foaming add the onions and garlic. Stir well to coat in butter and cook until onions are starting to brown on the edges.

Add the flour and about 1/2 c of the chicken stock, whisk well, this will thicken and become a paste. Keep whisking and slowly add the remaining chicken stock. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add the milk, tobasco sauce and dry mustard and optional turmeric, whisk well to incorporate. Bring up to a simmer.

Once the soup starts to simmer add the cheese and stir well until all cheese is melted. Taste for salt & pepper, add as needed. Add the broccoli puree to the soup along with the reserved florettes.

Simmer soup for 20 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Once broccoli is tender taste soup again for seasoning, adjust salt & pepper as needed.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 392.9
Total Fat 23.4 g
Saturated Fat 13.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.5 g
Cholesterol 64.0 mg
Sodium 924.2 mg
Potassium 1,046.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 28.4 g
Dietary Fiber 9.9 g
Sugars 2.6 g
Protein 20.6 g