That taste of summer we got last week? It’s gone. More typical early spring weather is back…it’s chilly! This is definitely a bit of a bummer, but at least it feels normal to eat soup again.
My kids really enjoy broccoli cheese soup; they order it whenever we’re out and it’s on the menu. I have found most versions to be pretty disappointing, however…those soups lack depth and they’ve usually got a “goopy” consistency which I imagine is the result of being thickened with cornstarch.
So I set about creating a homemade broccoli cheese soup we’d all love.
I wanted the soup to be wholesome, yet comforting…thick and creamy, but not overly rich. I made a few attempts and this one, replete with roasted broccoli, was our favorite.
I adapted this roasted broccoli soup from The Kitchn: I doubled the amount of broccoli and I halved the amount of cheese: it’s perfect this way for me. If you taste it and it just doesn’t taste cheesy enough for you, however, I give you permission to add more…it’s your soup now, not mine ;)
[cft format=0]
More Delicious Looking Soups:
Roasted Zucchini Soup with Stilton from Six Course Dinner
Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup from Simply Recipes
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Tomatoes and Cheddar from Ask Chef Dennis
Recipe for Roasted Broccoli Soup with Fontina
Ingredients
- *2 heads organic broccoli
- *3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- *3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- *sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- *1 large organic onion peeled and chopped
- *1 large organic yukon gold potato chopped
- *6 cups water vegetable stock, or chicken stock
- *sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- *1/2 cup fontina cheese cut into small cubes (or use a sharp cheddar)
- *4 tablespoons crème fraîche plus more for garnishing individual bowls of soup, if desired
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Chop the broccoli into florets and arrange on a sheet pan (or two) with the garlic cloves. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the broccoli and garlic. Sprinkle the broccoli with sea salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 10 minutes, stirring the broccoli around half way through.
- 2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Cook for several minutes, until soft. Add the potato along with the water or stock to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
- 3. After 10 minutes of roasting, remove broccoli and garlic from the oven and add to the soup pot. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 more minutes, until the vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit.
- 4. Transfer soup to a blender (or purée right in the pot if you have an immersion blender) and purée in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add the cheese. Stir until it has melted completely. Add crème fraîche and stir to combine again. Taste and adjust seasonings, and add more water or stock if you want to thin the soup a bit. Or, if you'd like a thicker, cheesier soup, add more cheese. Serve individual bowls with additional crème fraîche swirled in, if you like; freshly ground pepper is also a "must" on top.
