Creamy Dreamy Broccoli Soup

I love creamy veggie soups of all kinds, especially on cold nights. For tonight's dinner, I whipped up a warming batch of cream of broccoli soup.  It took about 30 minutes from prep to plate.  My preschooler ate two bowls but I'm convinced it was mainly because (her observation) it "looked liked mint chip ice cream."

CREAMY DREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP

I use a lot of broccoli in my soup.  It gives the soup a vibrant, green color that I can't quite capture with my (non SLR) camera (at dusk) even though I push it to the limit.  If you don't have a stick blender (get one!) puree the soup in batches in a blender BEFORE adding the half-and-half, then add the half-and-half to the puree.

• enough olive oil to just coat the bottom of a soup pot
• a pat of unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 6 cups of broccoli florets (I buy the giant bag from Costco and used about 1/3 of the bag)
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped or 5 new red potatoes (what I had on hand, I didn't bother peeling them)
• 1 box organic free range chicken broth
• 2 cups half-and-half or milk (I used the former)
• a grating of nutmeg
• salt and *white* pepper

In a soup pot, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a little salt, and cook until onions are soft and translucent.

Add the broccoli, potatoes, broth and bring to a boil. Don't worry if broth doesn't completely cover broccoli. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer until the broccoli and potatoes tender, about 20 minutes.

Add in half-and-half and stick blend the entire mixture off heat until a smooth puree is achieved.  Return to low heat and warm through but do not boil. Add nutmeg and adjust salt and pepper.

Comments

[Dianne]

That looks great!

[eleanor martineau]

quart box of chicken broth?

[CityMama]

Yes, Eleanor. The quart one. I forgot that they come in smaller sizes now.

[Hilary]

Yummm. I just got an immersion blender (finally!) and the first thing I made was soup.

Do you listen to Splendid Table? I thought of you. You can stream in on NPR.org. This past weekend's show was on food in Hawaii.

[Csara]

Check out my scary breakfast incident:
http://www.babytalkers.com/2007/no-more-raisin-toast-for-me.html

[pamela]

Do you think this will work with with soy butter and rice milk ?

[pamela]

Do you think this will work with with soy butter and rice milk ?

[Lea]

This is so well timed! I've been staring at a major over-purchase of broccoli and combing the web for the right soup recipe.

Then I came here looking for a meatloaf recipe..and behold...!

I love any creamy veggie soup, too. Now that Trader Joe's is here and I can get peeled, cubed butternut squash, I'm in heaven. It's a short distance from there to yummy soup.

- L

[StubbyDog]

I made this last night...it was yummy! The two year old actually ate broccoli. ;-)

[Kerry]

This was dinner tonight, along with 9 grain bread. Here is the review:
Mom: Yummy, but not as green as in the picture. It did seem to be missing something, but I couldn't tell you what. One kid suggested it was missing ham. I am SO SURE that isn't it.
Dad: Mmm. It's actually good. I would enjoy having this again in the winter.
One kid would only taste it and said he didn't like it, another said she didn't like it but ate a few bites before proclaiming that she was full, two kids said it was good and ate it, one didn't say a word and a few bites, and another ate two big bowls and said he LOVED it.

Thanks for the recipe and the wonderful blog!

KErry