Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love this soup. It is warming and great to have on a cold winter evening. Pair it with your favorite sandwich and you have a wonderful meal. Today I made a Rueben sandwich to go along with it. What kind of sandwich will you make?

For the soup, you can use any fat percentage of milk but the more fat the more lusciously creamy the soup will taste. I like to use half and half because you get the decadence of the cream half and then not so many calories from the milk half :).

I also prefer the subtle flavor of shallots, rather than onions, but either will work fine. If you don’t have shallots, onions, and/or garlic you can definitely substitute with 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.

I also add a touch of turmeric to help get that classic yellowish orange color. That way you don’t need to add loads of fatty cheese to get to the perfect color!

You will need:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped (or regular onion)
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2-3 cups chicken broth (vegetable if you want to make it vegetarian)
• 2 cups half and half (or whatever you have on hand)
• 3-4 cups broccoli florets and softer stems, roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced or shredded
• 10 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 4 to 6 slices of crispy bacon, chopped, for garnish (optional, obviously not if you are a vegetarian 🙂 )
• Green onions or chives, for garnish (optional)

Steps:

1. Melt butter in medium sized pot and add shallots or onions and salt. Sauté until onions are translucent.
2. Add garlic and let cook for 30 seconds then add pepper, mustard and turmeric and stir well.
3. Add flour, and with a whisk, combine everything well and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Slowly add 2 cups of broth, stirring well so no lumps form, and then continue with the half and half or other type of milk that you prefer.
5. Once the liquids are smoothly incorporated let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, if you think it is too thick then go ahead and add some or all of the third cup of the broth and incorporate well and bring back to a simmer then add the broccoli and carrot.
6. Let cook for another 10 to 15 minutes (until broccoli is tender), stirring every few minutes.
7. Add most of the cheese (leaving about 1/2 cup for garnish) and stir until melted, about 5 minutes then turn off heat.
8. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with some shredded cheese, chopped bacon, and green onions or chives.
9. Serve with your favorite sandwich and enjoy!

Kali Orexi!