Broccoli Soups

Mmmm broccoli soup. We all love it around here. Full of vitamins, easy to cook up, and many different ways to cook it. This winter I've tried three different recipes.

The simplest one I found is by Gordon Ramsay and the instructions are to 1) boil the broccoli, 2) drain and reserve the liquid, 3) puree the broccoli, adding in as much cooking water as needed to reach desired consistency, 4) season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil, 5) enjoy. You can fancy it up by pouring it into a bowl that has some goat cheese and walnuts waiting. Simple, delicious, and light.

The next recipe I tried is a rich Cream of Broccoli and Cheddar Soup. Because there's a roux it ends up having a thicker texture and makes for a hearty soup. This is the only one of the three that wouldn't work on a low-carb diet since there's a good amount of flour in it. I made this soup a few weeks ago and served it with a side of quinoa pancakes. The kids liked this one the best and it had the most mild broccoli flavor of the three. The other bonus is that it calls for cooked broccoli which makes it a great leftovers recipe if you happen to have some in the fridge.

Smooth Broccoli Cheddar Soup is the one I made most recently is my favorite at this point. It's kind of a mid-point between the two previous recipes. It boils up the broccoli along with a few other goodies in a broth, so there are more complex flavors than with the simple broccoli puree, and rather than a roux it's only made creamy by adding cheese and cream so not quite as heavy. I pureed it in my BlendTec on the soup setting which made it incredibly smooth as you can see from the photo.

And for all of these soup recipes, bacon always makes for an excellent garnish. There's really very little that bacon doesn't pair well with!

Cream of Broccoli and Cheddar Soup (with roux)

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/2 cups 2% milk
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup cooked chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a medium pot, saute onions in butter until tender.
2. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until blended.
3. Gradually whisk in milk and broth.
4. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until desired thickness.
5. Add broccoli, stirring until heated through.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese until melted. (Don't put it back on the stove to boil after the cheese has been added or it will get a grainy texture.)

Smooth Broccoli Cheddar Soup (no flour)

Lightly inspired by Eating Keto

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 large broccoli bunches, chopped. (I peel the stems and chop them up as well)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup heavy cream
• fresh cooked bacon bits (optional)
• chopped green onions (optional)
• salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Combine chicken broth, broccoli and onion and bring to a boil. 
2. Turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 min or until the veggies are soft.
3. Put everything into a blender and puree. Depending on the size of your blender container this might need to be done in a few batches. Try not to fill more than 1/2 full at a time. Alternately, take a handheld stick blender to your pot and blend until smooth.
4. Return the puree to the pot over low heat. Slowly add in the shredded cheese stirring until melted, and then add in the heavy cream. Heat until steamy; try not to let it boil since that can ruin the cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
5. Serve topped with more cheddar cheese, bacon bits and/or green onions.

Cheesy Broccoli Bacon Potato Bake

Very sad news this weekend for a nearby community that the St. Albert Cheese Factory burned down. St. Albert orange mild cheddar is a staple in our house and I occasionally spring for a bag of their cheese curds as well as a snack food for the kids or if we're going to make poutine. Here's a picture of the uniquely Canadian delicacy we made a few weeks ago with homemade fries, gravy from a mix and their fresh cheese curds.

At the grocery store tonight the clerk restocking the St. Albert cheese section said the product was selling very quickly. She said a woman came in just before me and bought over $200 worth of St. Albert cheese since the news reports are saying that it would take about a year for the factory to be up and running again.


So with cheese on my mind and a big bag of broccoli florets in the fridge I decided to go with a simple, yummy, not-so-healthy casserole including many of our favourite ingredients. How yummy was it? So yummy that my kids tried to pick out the bacon and cheesy broccoli bits straight from the cooking dish before their dad got home, and so yummy that there are no leftovers.

Cheesy Broccoli Bacon Potato Bake
adapted from this recipe 

• 5 slices bacon
• 1 small onion 
• 2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded mild cheddar + extra to sprinkle on top if you like cheese. We like cheese.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Fry 5 slices of bacon. Remove bacon, and drain some bacon grease into a clean bowl. Crumble the bacon once it's cool to the touch. 
3. In remaining bacon grease, fry onions for 1-2 minutes, add potatoes and broccoli, adding back some bacon grease if needed. Saute until fairly tender. Add in the crumbled bacon and remove from heat.
4.  Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, cook for a bit, and then slowly whisk in the milk. While continually stirring, bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the shredded cheese until it's all melted. Add black pepper to taste. I don't add any extra salt since the cheese and bacon are already both quite salty.
5. Put the sauteed vegetables and crumbled bacon into a greased casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce on top.
6. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes. If you're aiming for a super cheesy dish, around the 20 min mark sprinkle on extra shredded cheese.