The holidays and three little boys have a knack for getting in the way of my blog posts sometimes and this week is an example of such. I made this soup over a week ago but am now just finding time to write about it. Ahh…no reason to bemoan a busy schedule – I’d probably complain about being bored if my schedule was less packed.
At any rate, we love soups in our house when the weather gets cold. I have a few staples that we rotate through quite often but I am also always trying to develop new recipes.
This one came about because I had some extra broccoli and no idea what to do with it. And truthfully, I created this recipe to be “Broccoli Cheddar Soup” only to realize I was low on cheddar. Not to worry though, I had plenty of mozzarella on hand and the sharpness of the cheddar balanced nicely with the creamy mozzarella.
I served this soup in a bread bowl and called it a meal, but it would be just as good piping hot, in a bowl, on its own. But really – what’s better than a crusty bread bowl filled with creamy, cheesy soup?
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium store bought)
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Directions:
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. When butter is melted add onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Saute until softened, about 5 – 7 minutes.
- Whisk in flour and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until golden.
- Slowly whisk in milk until smooth.
- Stir in chicken stock and broccoli.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes until thickened.
- Puree soup in batches in a blender or in the pot using an immersion blender until smooth.
- Whisk in cheese and simmer until cheese is melted, stirring often, about 15 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Thin with additional stock if the soup is too thick.
- Garnish with additional cheese and serve in a bread bowl, if desired.
Tagged: black pepper, broccoli, butter, carrot, cheddar cheese, flour, kosher salt, milk, mozzarella cheese, onion, soup, stock
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