Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Category: Soups & Salads | Blog URL: http://andrea-thekitchenwitch.blogspot.com

This recipe was entered in The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest, a compilation of the world’s best food blogs which was published in Fall 2010.

Photo: Andrea The Kitchen Witch

Ingredients

3 heads broccoli including stems

4 cups chicken stock (you do use homemade, right?)

2 cups milk

1 small onion

1 rib celery

S&P

3 teaspoons butter

1/2 cup flour

8 ounces Cheddar or colby jack cheese shredded, optional

drizzle of oil

Preparation

Cut the broccoli florettes from the stems.

Set aside.

Roughly chop the stems, onion and celery.

Heat a large soup pot over med hi heat.

Drizzle oil in pan, once hot add broccoli stems, onions & celery.

Cook until the broccoli starts to brown.

Add chicken broth, S&P and simmer about 15 min, until vegetables are very soft.

Remove veggie solids into a food processor, add 1-2 c cooking liquid and puree until very smooth.

If you don't have a food processor you can use a blender or an immersion (stick) blender.

Transfer the puree and the remaining cooking liquid to a large bowl.

In the same pot melt the butter.

Once melted add the flour and whisk well to make a roux. Cook roux about 3-5 min or until it smells nutty and takes on a light golden color.

Slowly add milk, whisking well.

This will be VERY thick.

Add the puree/stock mixture to the thickened milk and stir well.

Bring to a simmer.

Add broccoli florettes and cook 10-15 min or until broccoli florettes are tender

Remove soup from heat.

Add shredded cheese and stir well until it melts.

Adjust seasonings and serve.

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About

I call this Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup rather than Cream Of Broccoli soup because it contains NO cream! Yes that's right, no cream! You still get all the flavor and creamy texture that you've come to love in a broccoli soup, with out the added fat and calories.

Most people like the broccoli florettes. They're nice & pretty, tender & easy to eat. My preschooler LOVES the florettes, she calls them dinosaur trees & will chow down on them with a quickness. Which is awesome but it leaves me with a LOT of stem ends.

Now if you've learned anything about the Kitchen Witch its that I abhor waste in the kitchen. Ingredients are too expensive to just throw away parts & pieces because they are less pretty or not needed for a recipe. The broccoli stems are a prime example of this. When the little Witch asks for broccoli she expects to see a neatly trimmed florette, leaving behind the stem. I look at this pale green stem and say hmm...you could be made into soup! Its loaded with lots of broccoli flavor, not to mention fiber, perfect! A little cooking and its tender, a little puree and its a soup base loaded with flavor and lends a delightful green hue to the soup.

Kitchen Witch Tip: If you have broccoli stems but aren't ready to make the soup, no fear! Simply put the stems in a freezer zip top bag & freeze until you have enough to make this soup. You can also use frozen broccoli, however please adjust your cooking times as the frozen florettes tend to cook quicker than their fresh counterpart.

This creamy broccoli soup will keep them coming back for more, and at less than 250 calories a bowl, you can feel good about serving it to your family.