I scored with a bag of broccoli at the grocery store today. Marked down to next to nothing. I expect it had reached its sell-by date, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. It was a brilliant green, and all the florets were intact. I had to buy it.
I decided to make a delicious and warming soup/chowder with it. It's been freezing cold today with a bitter wind blowing. Soup is always welcome on a cold winter's day. All you need to make a meal of it is some nice crusty bread really.
Todd usually likes his soupls pureed. I like a bit of texture in mine, and so this is a bit of a combination of both our likes. I mashed some of it with a potato masher, which not only thickened it a bit, but made him happy . . . and the chunks made me happy.
I added cheese. Broccoli and cheese are such good bed partners. They get along quite happily. Use a strong flavoured cheese. A good strong cheddar works very well. I also added some carrot for color and additional texture. It's really a chowder I think . . . which is more than a soup. A chowder is a meal.
*Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder*Serves 6Printable Recipe
A healthy and satisfyingly delicious winter chowder recipe using up bits from the vegetable bin.
1 TBS light olive oil1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped1 large stalk of celery, trimmed and chopped1 large potato, peeled and diced1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped1 TBS plain flour1 tsp dry mustard powderpinch cayenne pepper1/2 pound fresh broccoli, stems peeled and chopped,
florets, separated and cut into bite sized pieces900ml of vegetable stock (3 1/2cups)120g strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)(Lower fat cheese works fine)(plus a bit extra to sprinkle on the finished soup when you serve it)125ml of cream (1/2 cup) (you can also use low fat evaporated milk, undiluted. This is what I use.)fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, shallot, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion and celery have softened, without browning. Add the potato and garlic. Cook, stirring until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the flour, mustard and cayenne, stirring it in well and allowing it to cook for a couple minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock along with the broccoli stems. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes. Uncover and stir in the broccoli florets. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the cover and mash it a bit with a potato masher. Don't mash it too much, as you want a coarse texture. Stir in the cheddar and cream. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired with salt and pepper. Ladle into heated bowls. Top with some grated cheese and serve.
