An easy, creamy, chicken broth based broccoli soup that can use either fresh or frozen broccoli as the star. Make it a broccoli and cheese soup with the addition of some shredded Velveeta.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

A reader asked on Twitter if I had a broccoli soup recipe, and while I had not put one up on the blog yet, I tweeted the basics to them, hoping I didn't forget anything. (I did. I forgot the garlic!) Then, well, all I could think of the rest of the day was broccoli soup - so of course I had to make some!

Since I'm trying to lighten things up a bit right now, I thought I would work with it and see what I could do. Instead of making a butter based roux, I decided to toast the flour, so I reduced it by half, and cooked it in the skillet, whisking constantly until it turned a nice golden color. That, of course, meant that I had to slightly precook the onion, celery and garlic, so I put them in a custard cup, sprayed them with a bit of butter flavored non-stick spray and microwaved them. I also replaced the half and half with skim milk. The picture above and the recipe below is the result, and I have to say, while of course it doesn't have the richness of it's original full fat cousin, it actually turned out quite excellent! And all of you doing Weight Watchers, I calculated the points for this using 1-1/2 cups of skim milk and a 1 cup serving was only 2 points!& I added just a pinch of Parmesan cheese to mine.

If you're hankering for the real deal, fat and all, here it is ... just scroll on down for the lighter version.

If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!

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Recipe: Cream of Broccoli Soup

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish©

Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 20 min |

Yield: About 4 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 bunch of broccoli
• 1-1/2 cups of chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of celery
• 1/2 cup of onion
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups of half and half, or as needed
• 2 cups of shredded Velveeta, optional
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Rinse the broccoli and cut up into bite sized pieces. Cook it in the chicken stock just until tender, remove, set it aside and reserve the stock. Add additional stock if needed to bring it back up to 1-1/2 cups.

In a large saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter and then whisking in the flour a little at a time. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, for about 3 or 4 minutes, just long enough to cook the flour. Add the celery and onion to the roux and cook until tender, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken stock until fully incorporated. Add the broccoli, and begin thinning by whisking in the half and half until the soup reaches the desired consistency. If you want to keep the broccoli chunky, just stir in the half and half with a spoon instead of whisking. Heat over medium to medium low until warmed through, but do not boil! Stir in cheese if using and continue warming until cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.Can also puree if desired.

~~~~~

Lighter Cream of Broccoli Soup
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 bunch of broccoli
1-1/2 cups of reduced sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of celery
1/2 cup of onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 to 2 cups of skim milk, or as needed
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Rinse the broccoli and cut up into bite sized pieces. Cook it in the chicken stock just until tender, remove, set it aside and reserve the stock. Add additional stock if needed to bring it back up to 1-1/2 cups.

Place the onion and celery in a small custard cup, spray them with non-stick butter flavored cooking spray and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic to the onion, microwave another 30 seconds, remove and set aside.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, toast the flour, whisking constantly until it begins to lightly brown. Add the celery, onion and garlic mixture to the flour and stir to coat veggies. Slowly begin to whisk in the reserved chicken stock until fully incorporated.

Whisk in the milk until blended well and it reaches the desired consistency. Add the broccoli and continue cooking to warm through, adding additional milk if needed. Do not boil. If you want to break the broccoli down a bit, use the whisk and just extract any broccoli that makes it's way inside the whisk. If you prefer it more chunky, then just stir it in. Cook over medium heat until the broccoli is heated through. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. Can puree if desired. 1 cup is 2 Weight Watchers Points.

~Cook's Notes~

Substitute 1 (10 ounce) frozen chopped broccoli if desired

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Posted by Mary on January 7, 2010

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