Broccoli Cheddar Soup

The ultimate in cold-weather comfort food (well, maybe second to grilled cheese and tomato soup.)

I threw this soup together from what I had on hand in the kitchen, after browsing several broccoli cheddar soup recipes online, all of which looked either too complex or simple (or pre-packaged) to me. Total cooking time was less than an hour, and it made at least eight servings, since the batch is so big I'm hoping it will keep well in the fridge & freezer.



You will need:

• 4 tbsp butter
  
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 8 cups chopped broccoli, stems and florets separated
• 1/4 cup flour + 1 tbsp
  
• 8 cups broth (I used 4 low-sodium chicken & 4 vegetable)
  
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
  

The only dishes you'll need for this is are a big heavy-bottomed pot and an immersion blender or normal blender.

1. Put your pot over medium heat and add 2 tbsp of butter
2. once butter begins to sizzle add the onions and saute until tender and translucent
   
3. add chopped broccoli stems and cook until soft
4. make a well in the veggies and add the remaining butter
5. once butter melts shake 1/4 cup flour into butter
6. cook until flour is golden, taste to make sure flour is cooked, stirring often
7. add a bit of broth and scrape up any brown bits stuck to bottom of pot
8. add remaining broth and thoroughly stir soup
9. make sure broccoli is soft and use immersion blender to thoroughly blend soup (or carefully do it the pain-in-the-butt way w/ a normal blender)
   
10. bring soup to a simmer and add broccoli florets
11. toss grated cheese with 1 tbsp flour to coat
    
12. simmer until florets are just fork-tender
13. remove soup from heat
14. add cheese a handful at a time, stirring completely between each addition
15. let cool a bit and serve
    

This soup was super served with red pepper flakes, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a splash of golden balsamic vinegar.



Enjoy!


p.s. Not many pictures because this time of year it's always dark by the time I get to cooking, and the light in my kitchen is terrible.

If you're curious about nutritional info, the soup comes in at 260 calories a serving, and probably tons of sodium, but lots of vitamins & calcium.