Broccoli And Three Cheeses Soup |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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Since we’ve had nothing but cold weather around here this winter, I’ve been craving soup every day, and a cheesy broccoli soup is one of my favorites. I combined several different recipes and came up with this as my most recent favorite. Read more . If you’re not familiar with the Penzey’s seasoning that I listed in the ingredients, they are available online – they have an amazing array of spices, and I have liked anything I've ever purchased from them. The 4/S seasoning is a great blend of spices! Ingredients:
2 big bunches of broccoli, stems removed (about 4 to 5 cups of flowerets) |
2 (32 ounce) boxes chicken stock |
4 tablespoons butter |
3/4 cup diced sweet onion |
3/4 cup celery, peeled and sliced (yes, i peel the outside of my celery stalks with a potato peeler and you will see it has a milder flavor and won’t be stringy - try it!) |
1 clove garlic, freshly minced |
1/4 cup flour |
2 teaspoons penzey’s 4/s (special seasoned sea salt: a blend of sea salt, sugar, extra bold pepper, paprika, onion, turmeric, garlic, and extracts of celery, rosemary and thyme) |
1 cup cubed american or velvetta cheese |
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated |
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese |
1/2 cup sour cream |
1 cup low-fat or regular half-and-half |
roux for thickening |
2 tablespoons butter, melted |
6 tablespoons flour |
for garnish |
grated extra sharp cheddar cheese |
crushed garlic cheese croutons |
Directions:
1. In a large soup pot, bring stock to boiling and add broccoli flowerets; boil until broccoli is tender-crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Remove broccoli from pot and set aside.
3. While broccoli is boiling, melt 4 tablespoons butter in skillet; add onion and celery.
4. Sauté onion and celery just until onion becomes transparent.
5. Add garlic to onion/celery in pan; stir for about 1 minute, allowing the garlic flavor to infuse, but do not let it brown or burn.
6. Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour and 4/S seasoning (or your own blend of seasonings if you do not have Penzey’s) over veggies and garlic; stir briskly to coat them with the flour and salt.
7. Add flour coated veggie mixture to chicken stock; whisk to blend into the stock thoroughly.
8. Add cheeses and broccoli to pot, stirring gently until cheeses are melted.
9. Use an immersion blender to pulverize most of the soup contents. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can mash the contents using a potato masher, or put about 3/4 of the soup into a blender (in batches, if needed) to pulverize, leaving some of the veggie chunks in the soup.
10. Prepare roux by stirring 6 tablespoons flour into melted 2 tablespoons of butter to form a thick paste.
11. In a small bowl, stir about 1/2 cup of the soup into the roux to thin it out, and then stir it back into the soup; heat soup thoroughly.
12. A few minutes before serving, stir about 1/2 cup of the hot soup into the sour cream, stirring to thin it enough to pour it back into the soup in a stream (I’ve found this helps keep the sour cream from clumping up in the hot soup and/or separating).
13. Add half-and-half to soup; heat soup thoroughly.
14. Place soup in bowls; garnish with some grated cheddar and a handful of crushed croutons.
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