The Melaniff Family Cookbook
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
4 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 to 4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 t salt
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T all-purpose flour
2 C half-and-half
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 Lb broccoli florets
1 C carrots, shredded
1/2 t dry mustard powder
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t grated nutmeg
14 oz (3 1/4 C) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 t hot sauce
4 personal-sized loaves sourdough bread (6 to 8 ounces each)
Procedure
Melt the butter in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and salt and sauté until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes to cook the flour and remove any raw starch flavor. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half and broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the broccoli, carrots, mustard powder, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine and submerge as many of the vegetables as possible. Cover and simmer, reducing the heat as needed, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Cut a 1/4-inch-thick slice from the top of your bread. Scoop out the bread from the center of the loaf, leaving 1/2 to 3/4 inch of bread around the edges and bottom. Reserve the top and interior of bread for another use, such as croutons or breadcrumbs. Set bread bowls aside.
Remove the soup from the heat. Remove some of the carrots and broccoli, Purée to desired consistency with an immersion blender,or in batches in a stand blender.Add carrots and broccoli back in with the cheese in next step.
Return the soup to low heat. Slowly whisk in the cheese, a handful at a time, allowing each addition of cheese to melt before adding the next.
Whisk in the hot sauce, then taste and season with additional salt or pepper as needed
Ladle into the bread bowls and top with more shredded cheddar cheese and hot sauce.
On www.melaniff.com since 2017