Creamy Broccoli & Squash Soup with 3 Cheeses
Creamy Broccoli & Squash Soup with 3 Cheeses
Dr. Frazier-stein was in the lab again and Broccoli & Squash Soup with 3 Cheeses is the delectable result. This recipe took less time to prepare than I thought it would. It was born out of the need to use the broccoli in the vegetable bin and the leftover zucchini from a recipe I made previously.
I hope you try this one out. I was very happy with the results, as were the other diners. I never know what's going to happen when I go into the lab and start throwing things around. Thankfully, the results are almost always a success. I guess I'd estimate the success rate at 99.999%. I can tell I have a success when people aren't spitting things out or surreptitiously feeding the food to the cat or the dog.
Ingredients
- 12-16 ounces fresh broccoli
- 8-10 ounces zucchini
- 6-8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4-6 ounces Mozzarella & Muenster cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup white or yellow onion (small dice)
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups water or chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to your taste
- Assemble all ingredients & kitchen tools. Recommended equipment: chef's knife, cutting board, colander, cheese grater, paring knife (or vegetable peeler), 8"-10" saute pan, 6-8 quart cooking pot, whisk, measuring cups & spoons, bowls for holding ingredients, spoon, potato masher.
- Fill cooking pot with water until it's about half full. Wash and cut broccoli florets into 1" pieces. Peel broccoli stems and dice (medium dice is good.) Place in colander. Wash, peel and dice squash (medium dice). Peeling the squash is not a requirement, you can leave the skin on if you like. Grate cheese, (unless you're using "pre-grated" cheese).
- After the water starts to boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt. Rinse broccoli one more time under tap and then put it all into the cooking pot. Bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium. Cook about 3-4 minutes. Add squash, cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Drain broccoli and squash in colander. Set aside.
- While the broccoli is cooking, melt butter in saute pan (at about medium heat). Add flour and mix well, making a roux. Add diced onion to the roux. Cook until the onion is tender.
- Gradually add 1 cup of milk to "onion" roux, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened, then turn off heat.
- Dump broccoli & squash back into the cooking pot. Using a potato masher, mash the mixture to break it up into smaller pieces. (Don't go nuts with this, you don't want to end up with mush).
- Add contents of saute pan to broccoli mixture and bring heat up to about medium. Stir well. Add water or stock, stir until well incorporated.
- Add cheese a little at a time (3-4 batches), stirring well after each addition. Continue stirring until cheese is melted. Turn heat down to low. Season soup with salt & pepper to your taste.
- For service, sprinkle a little grated cheese on top. Serve soup with your favorite crackers. Enjoy your Broccoli & Squash Soup!
