Broccoli Cheese(s) Soup!
Man, this stuff is delcious. I was having one of those days (after eating a dinner the previous night consisting of bacon and cheesy grits and more bacon) where I decided I really needed some veggies. Unfortunately, I also wanted some warm winter comfort food, and the thought of any vegetable turned me right off and led me to dream of more bacon. Alas! An Idea! Creamy broccoli cheese soup with a healthy, yet hearty, guilt free twist.Make this for anyone in your life who hates to eat vegetables. Tell them its all cheese and cream and they will never know the difference.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 6 whole shiitake mushrooms (if unavailable, Criminis will work fine), diced
- 1/2 lbs Broccoli, large chunk chopped (including stems)
- 4 cups chicken or veggie stock
- cups low fat or skim milk
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese
- salt
- pepper
Recommended tools:
- large soup pot
- wooden spoon
- immersion hand blender
1. Heat olive oil on med-high heat in soup pot. Add onion and shallot and sweat until translucent. Add mushrooms and brown for 4 minutes with a dash of salt.
2. Add broccoli, and mix all ingredients well. Pour all 4 cups of stock into the pot, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Add some salt to taste about halfway through cooking (I added about 1/8 tsp.).3. Uncover, and add both cups of milk. Return to a simmer for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low.
4. Using the hand blender, puree mixture until smooth. (If you don't have a hand blender, you can accomplish this step in your blender or food processor. Pour entire contents of the soup pot into a large bowl, and then puree in even batches. Add the pureed mix back into the soup pot, and return to low heat).5. Once pureed, stir in nutmeg and cheeses until smooth. Add a dash of salt and some fresh ground pepper to taste.