Thursday, March 11, 2010

Fast, Easy, and Delicious Broccoli Cheese Soup

Lately, I have seen broccoli cheese soup on a few menus when we went out to eat. However, I usually  shy away from ordering soups when eating out as I never know how healthy they are, and oftentimes they are very fatty and include “mystery” ingredients.

Homemade soups, on the other hand, are a great way to eat your veggies without adding lots of fat or “mystery” ingredients. My “secret” to creamy soups is my immersion blender. It turns any veggie soup into a “creamy” soup without adding any fat.

When I saw the beautiful broccoli in my CSA delivery, I knew that I had to finally make some broccoli cheese soup.

broccoli cheese soup 01

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1 bunch of broccoli, stems peeled and cut into pieces and florets separated
  • 6 cups of low sodium or homemade vegetable broth, or water, or a combination of broth and water
  • 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • salt, optional
  • pepper, optional
Directions:
  1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a big pot, and when hot, add the diced onion and then the garlic and sauté for a few minutes.
  2. Then add the broccoli to the pot and sauté for a minute.
  3. Add the vegetable stock and cook everything for 15 minutes, until the broccoli is soft.
  4. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
  5. Once the soup is smooth, add the cheese and let it melt in the hot soup.
  6. Then blend the soup some more with the immersion blender to make sure the soup and the cheese “marry.”
  7. If desired, season with salt and pepper.
  8. Enjoy!
broccoli cheese soup 02

I actually tasted the soup before adding the cheese, and it was delicious. So if you want to keep it dairy free, feel free to leave out the cheese, and you’ll still end up with a delicious (lower calorie, dairy-free) soup!

Questions: What’s your favorite soup? What’s your favorite way to eat broccoli? I love raw broccoli followed by broccoli cheese soup… :-)

Be well,
Andrea