Broccoli-Cheese Soup

This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s a very delicious broccoli soup, the trick is overcooking the broccoli (right? I know!) but the color is brought back by adding fresh spinach.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs. unsalted butter
  • 2 lbs. broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, adn cute into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tsp.)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
  • 3-4 cups of water
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 oz. baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
  • 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (white preferred)
  • 3/4 cup grated fine Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  • pinch of cayenne
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and baking soda. bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
  2. Add broth and 2 cups of water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmers, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Photo by Cookthinker via Flickr used with CC Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike license