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Broccoli Soup Recipe
Vote for Broccoli Soup
Your Floret of Nutritional 411 for this post:
"Broccoli--though not exoccoli--is within an inach--of being spinach" (ANON, but probably not Popeye)
Somewhat predictably, broccoli starts today's line-up, and despite the bad rap the Bush family gave it--way to go, Bush, yet another swing and a miss!---this flowering stalk is a virus-kicking veggie extraordinaire. A go-to for me, I like the cruciferous vegetable any way but raw, and as head cheerleader for the mean green, I'll give you a "Y" it tops my personal pyramid.
Beyond vitamins' A and C, broccoli is loaded with isothiocyanate phytochemicals, and if that first term sounds unpronounceable--it is--but more remarkably, it puts the fight in phytochemicals. (go team!) A cancer kicking,tumor trouncer, the fiber broccoli provides helps prevent diabetes & cardiovascular disease, while the sulforaphane it brings to the table keeps your airways clear for take-off.
The Results!
The Ingredients:
Recipe in Rebus:
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. broccoli
- ½ lb American cheese
- ½ lb Velveeta cheese
- 4 cups NS chicken stock
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup shallots, diced
- ¾ cup celery, diced
- ¾ cup carrots, diced
- 2-4 TBSP. olive oil
- 2-3 TBSP. butter, (or butter substitute)
- 1 tsp. ground arbol chiles, (cayenne pepper can be substituted)
- 1 double cube Knorr chicken bouillon, optional
- salt & pepper to taste
How to Do It:
- Grab your shallots, carrots & celery and dice all three pretty fine. Since this is a soup, I use the food processor for the shallots and carrots, but dice the more fibrous celery by hand. Set aside. It isn't necessary to keep these veggies separate, as all cook at once.
- Cut broccoli into bite-size florets, but don't pulverize it. Pare skin away from broccoli stalk & cube. Set aside out of the way, since you won't add this to the soup until last..
- Melt butter and oil in pot at medium high heat.
- When sizzling, add the veggie mix. Stir and cover, cooking until shallots are translucent, and other veggies somewhat tender. (but not mushy!) You should have just enough time to--->
- Get your cheese on. Grab your packs of oh-so-natural, cheese-like product, and remove plastic coating from individual slices. Careful not to mix this up with product when tossing away! (lol) Then cube whatever it is you didn't toss, and head over to the stovetop.
- Sprinkle flour onto veggies, and stir. Cook for a minute or two.
- Add chicken stock, and stir well.
- Add buttermilk, and stir. Let it reduce about 5 minutes, stirring intermittently.
- Add cheese cubes in increments--adding a handful & allowing to melt into mix before adding a little more, stirring after each addition.
- Add your ground arbol chiles judiciously, but DO add them. It really is best to use these instead of cayenne, because they add a complexity cayenne fails to bring to the pot. (You can find this spice in the "Mexican" section of your grocery store)
- Stir well, and taste. If you want, go ahead and add your bouillon cube at this point. Let dissolve, and stir.
- Add broccoli, and cook about 5 minutes more, depending on desired crispness to finished broccoli.
- Dish into bowls, add a zesty muffin or some crackers, and grab a spoon!
Serve & Enjoy!
