Easy Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Calling this week Green was perhaps overly hopeful on our part when we created our March schedule. Of course it was St.Patrick’s Day on Monday but we were also hoping there might be some green grass shooting up by now, a few green leaves unfurling. Yeah, not so much. Instead it’s rather grey and slushy out and really not what you want from the first days of spring. But we won’t let the weather stop us from eating our greens, will we?
This is an old recipe that’s been given a sparkly new photo. I love this soup because it’s packed with veggies, obvs, but the potato and cheese give it a comfort factor I’m still craving while it’s chilly out. This is a great soup to whip on a Sunday afternoon. You could put it in a thermos for a school lunch (or a work lunch, for that matter) or serve alongside a grilled cheese sandwich for a super easy weeknight dinner. C.M.
I know that there are technically a few more days left of summer but to me fall begins on the first of September. And in Toronto, it really feels like it. The sun is still mostly shining but wind is little more insistent and some mornings I have to wear a scarf to do the school run. If I can ignore the fact that winter is right around the corner, I love fall. It’s definitely my favourite time of year to cook. Lots of local produce in the stores and markets and it’s not too hot to be hanging out around the stove. And my favourite thing to make? Soup. I put up a soup question on Facebook and promptly got six great ideas for soups.
photo by Maya Visnyei
To get us started on what I think is going to be a soup bender I made broccoli and cheese soup. There aren’t many soups that are easier to make than this one. And if Laura weren’t always going on and on about how awesomely nutritious kale is I’d tell you that broccoli is really good for you. Not as good as kale, true, but it’s one of the best sources of a top notch antioxidant, vitamin C. Just kidding, honey, keep the kale pr coming!
This was a big hit at home and at my husband’s office, where the leftovers went the next day. Esme and Julian both loved it. Is there anything that cheese doesn’t improve?
Ingredients
- 4 cups broccoli florets and stem (just cut off the toughest bit at the end) chopped fairly small
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cups chopped, peeled potato
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 glug olive oil
- 4 cups stock - you could use vegetable or chicken but do make sure it's low sodium
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Sautee onion and garlic in a dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot for about 5 minutes until soft.
Add vegetables and stock and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
In small batches, ladle the broth and vegetables into your blender and puree. Pour each batch into a bowl as you go. Pour the puree back into your pot.
Over medium heat add milk and cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
If I had the right kind of bread around, this would have been great with some home made, garlic-y croutons. Do me a solid and pretend I did.
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
2 Comments
Christie
March 27, 11:25Oh my gosh – I just made broccoli soup a couple of days ago! I wish I had seen this first! I am doing dairy free so I made a cashew cream and it was scrumdilly!
greenjohn
March 07, 01:37My wife and both enjoy this tasty soup.
we were wondering how many calories if one has one serving??