Icicles hanging from the front porch
My driveway
It is an awesome cookbook! I simply love it. The recipes are well-written and inspiring. On one of my snowbound days, I made the Cream of Broccoli recipe. It was easy to make. The flavors are simple. The texture is velvety smooth and it tastes delicious. I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only difference is that I opted to use half and half instead of heavy cream. A piece of crusty bread, a salad and this soup make a perfect meal. You can also prepare it for a terrific first course.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 lbs broccoli
¼ C Olive oil
1 ¼ C chopped onion
½ C chopped celery
1 ¼ C chopped leek (white and light green parts only)
¼ C all purpose flour
1 ½ quarts of chicken broth
½ C half and half, heated
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Method:
- Separate the broccoli into stems and florets. Trim away any tough outer parts of the stems. Set aside 1 cup of the nicest looking florets to use as a garnish. Coarsely chop the remaining broccoli florets and stems.
- Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, leek and chopped broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 to 8 minutes. The onion should be translucent.
- Add the flour and blend well. Continue to cook, stirring frequently for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the broth to the pot gradually, whisking to work out any lumps of flour. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Stir frequently and skim the soup as needed.
- Strain the solids, reserving the liquids. Puree the solids, adding liquid as necessary to achieve the consistency of cream. (I used my blender to puree the solids. I did it in about 4 small batches. It turned out perfectly. An immersion blender works well too.)
- Combine the puree with enough of the reserved liquids to achieve the consistency of heavy cream. If you wish, strain the soup through a fine sieve. Return the soup to a simmer. ( I didn’t strain the soup and it turned out smooth and velvety. However, use your best judgment.) return the soup to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, steam or boil the reserved broccoli florets until just tender.
- Remove the soup from the heat and add the heated half and half. Season to taste with the fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve in heated bowls, garnish with the florets.
And now for the best part……I am GIVING AWAY one copy of Culinary Institute of America, The New Book of Soups
The New Book of Soups Giveaway
Giveaway Information:
One lucky winner will be chosen using Random.org.
Deadline: Friday, February 19, 2010 11:59pm EST
Required: Your email address! You must fill out the email address portion of the comment form. Your email address will not be published or shared with anyone else. I will need it to notify you should you win. The giveaway is only open to residents of the USA and Canada.
How to Enter: It’s simple! Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite soup.
For Extra Entries: Tweet about this giveaway (@foodluv31), post about it on your blog, or post about it on Facebook. Then come back and leave a separate comment with a link to your Tweet, blog post, or Facebook post for a possible 3 extra comments & entries.
Last but not least, I have to mention two really good food blogs for soup recipes. Seriously Soupy is an awesome blog dedicated to soup. Last month, Food o’ del Mundo featured a soup recipe series called Ten Days Of Soup. Both food blogs offer interesting and tasty recipes.
Cheers!
72 Comments
This soup sounds really good. I’m glad to hear it turned out well with half and half in place of heavy cream.
Also glad to hear you survived the snowpocalypse.
That broccoli soup looks delicious! We’ve been getting some wonderful broccoli at the farmer’s market so I’ll have to give it a try. My favorite soup is lentil, but I love to try new soups!
I grew up in Philly…don’t miss that snow, although we have been getting our own dose of it in Atlanta this Winter! Chicken Noodle Soup is always a great choice!
That broccoli soup looks amazing – I love all soup – but my favorite ever is my mom’s three bean chili!
tweet tweet:
http://twitter.com/joannakoon/status/9078224241
I love Chicken Wild Rice soup, oh and Chicken Noodle and Italian Wedding Soup.
I love chicken broth soups.
Oh wow, that soup looks so inviting. I absolutely love that yellow bowl too.
My favorite soup is Oyster stew. My grandpa turned me on to it when we moved from California to Oklahoma. It is so simple to make, but it is always the one I go back to for comfort.
Thanks so much for the wonderful giveaway, and for the chance to enter my name.
Tweet
http://twitter.com/HeartnSoulmom/status/9089215949
P.S. Thanks for the posting the links to the two other sites.
Posted this on my Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=329359196947&id=100000340624870&ref=nf
My husbands chicken noodle soup is my favorite soup. He makes it into a three day process. One of the days he boils the chicken and saves this huge pot of broth in the refrigerator overnight so the fat rises to the top and he skims it off the next day. Makes for a very clean, crisp taste.
It’s cream Of broccoli!
Carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com
I adore broccoli soup, and yours looks fantastic. I typically make this soup when I have leftover mashed potatoes and fold them in for body instead of using a roux.
My favorite soup is a slightly curried split pea soup. Mom used to make weekly for dinner growing up. Never got a recipe for it and sadly, she’s gone. Been working on the recipe for 7 years and haven’t gotten it right.
We’re in southcentral PA and I am totally related to being caught in all this crazy snow. My kiddos are loving it though. Soup is perfect for warming you up after sledding and snowball fights. This sounds great. I think my favorite is a sausage and lentil soup I’ve been making.
And on my facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/indieheroine?ref=profile#!/indieheroine?v=feed&story_fbid=340304530341&ref=mf
That broccoli soup looks fabulous. My favorite soup that I make is either my pumpkin cashew chipotle soup or my guinness stout beef stew, both which I wrote about in the past month or two.
Ohh man, my favorite soup has to be my mom’s homemade French onion OR her lentil soup… Yummmmmmmy.
Hey Lisa~ Thanks for the plug! I almost missed it. Your broccoli soup loos scrumptious! Enjoy the snow while it lasts
~Mary
My favorite soup is actually Broccoli cheedar soup, so this recipe sounds fabulous.
Thanks for the giveaway!
This looks so wonderful!
my favourite soup to date would have to be my home-made beet and onion soup. So delicious and the colour is just awesome!
Hi Lisa,
I can’t wait to make your Broccoli Soup. I too, am a soup lover that never makes it for myself. One of the best soups I ever had was at a friend’s house for “Open that Bottle” Night. It was a roasted red pepper soup and it was to die for. I’ll have to beg her for the recipe
My favorite soup right now is lentil and sausage– it’s taken me a few tries to get it how I want it, but it is a GREAT cold weather comfort soup now!
Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup dish I no longer live without.
A Slovak soup my grandma used to make called jucca. It’s made with dried mushrooms, millet, sauerkraut, and sausage. It may sound and look gross, but it’s DELICIOUS!!
Favorite soup ever? Lobster bisque!
Blogged:
http://indieheroine.blogspot.com/2010/02/soup-erb.html
My favorite soup is creamy tomatoe-any shape, any form! I especially love it with toasty croutons on top!
Soup is something I make regularly for my kids and believe it or not split pea is my 5 year old’s favorite. I like a hearty soup but I have a true love of French Onion because when it is well made it is heavenly!
my favorite soup is baked potato. Its definitely soup weather
Thanks for the giveaway! I blogged about my favorite soup after trying and falling in love with Tortilla Soup during a trip to Mexico at the end of the year http://sheskis.blogspot.com/2010/01/tortilla-soup.html; can’t wait to make it again.
I tweeted this also: http://twitter.com/Sheskis
Homemade chicken noodle soup or oyster stew with Trenton Oyster Crackers.
My favorite soup is either potato soup or chicken noodle soup. I am always trying new soup recipes. Thanks for this one. It looks very good!
Your soup looks great Lisa! My favorite way to enjoy soup is in a bread bowl. I recently treated myself to a potato cheddar soup in a bread bowl at Panera Bread Co. It was yummy and comforting as I looked out the window at the mounds of snow we’ve received so far this winter….burrrr!!
I’ll begin the Daniel Fast tomorrow. I’ll check back to see if you can offer any veggie, dairy free, low fat and spicy soup suggestions to add to my diet for the next 40 days
My favorite is broccoli and cheese soup!!! Yum
I love chowders, both seafood and corn.
My favorite soup is a Cream of Crimini soup that my local market makes in their prepared food section. AMAZING. Pair with some crusty bread. So yummy.
I’m in love with borscht! My grandmother’s is good, but the best I ever had was at the Olive Tree Cafe in the West Village, NYC. It came hot, with a hunk of tender beef, a dollop of sour cream, and a slice of hearty rye bread on the side. MMmm… miss it so much!
My favorite soup is my own beef barley! Yum!
DolphinV27@aol.com
tweeted
http://twitter.com/DolphinV27/status/9197674588
DolphinV27@aol.com
blogged
http://tiam0.blogspot.com/2010/02/more-giveaways_12.html
DolphinV27@aol.com
my fav soup is cheddar broccoli in a bread bowl…mmmmm…
My new favorite soup is chicken lemon.
sonflower277(at)gmail(dot)com
Here in the Washington, DC, we were also pummeled with snow and I took advantage of being snowed in and cooked some of our favorite soups. I can’t wait to try yours–sounds delicios. My favorite soup is potato leek. Thanks for the chance to win such a wonderful prize–one that would be used A LOT in this home!
I love Gumbo! Yum, yum, yum! My second favorite would probably be split pea soup. Thanks for the giveaway!
Right now, I am obsessed with Corn Chowder.
I love Potato soup, yum!
My favorite soup is usually the last one I just ate and in this case it was a great chickpea soup.
Homemade lentil with carrots and celery.
My favorite soup is clam chowder! I love it and could eat it happily every day
Tomato soup (with grilled cheese sandwiches on the side).
Gulas soup from germany
I have to say I don’t make many soups but would love to make some more and this would be a great excuse! There’s a root vegetable soup that you can get at a local Irish restaurant/pub/hotel that is absolutely divine!
i love plain ole broccoli and cheese soup. i can eat soup every day!
My favorite soup is my grandmothers homeade vegetable soup.
I don’t know if I can say my favorite soup. I CAN say my favorite soup ingredient, which is POTATO! I absolutely love potatoes in soup whether they are pureed or chunks.
It’s been so cold this year, I’ve just be doing a lot of soups so this would be a great gift to have.
I love White Chicken Chili – the one with cream in it!! YUM! Would love this cookbook!!
I ADORE Cream of Broccoli Soup, and this one sounds wonderful, and you can bet I will try it. BTW… I have a great soup recipe that I think is an early welcome to spring. I will get it to you. It’s from an old cookbook I have to dig out. It’s called Spring Pea Soup. It’s not made with dried split peas, but with tiny frozen peas or fresh peas. It was serendipity that I had done some rearranging of my freezer and mistakenly set a number of bags of frozen peas on top of the freezer and left them. When I discovered my oversight, the peas were defrosted. Out of my mistake came a search for a way to use the peas and the discovery of a wonderful soup recipe. How shall I describe the soup? Simply creamy, fresh, and the essence of spring! I will send it on, Lisa, and if you like it, you can share it here.
– Janice
Hands down my favorite soup is Pho. Really, and asian or middle eastern soup utilizing some form of meat and a broth that takes anywhere from a day to 10 days to make is right up my alley.
french onion soup thanks
I love a really good and spicy Chicken Tortilla soup.
I make the best Baked Potato soup in my slow cooker. I love it!
French onion is my favorite.
I love making caldo gallego, a throwback to my youth.
But my son loves my homemade minestrone. Soups are staples around here in the winter!
I love soup!!! I think my favorite is chicken and wild rice.
An old school favorite is potato and bacon soup, but I’ve recently fallen in love with the butternut squash soup with lime creme fraiche from my new favorite cook book, From the Earth to the Table. You must try it!
My favorite soup is French Onion. Thanks!
My favorite soup is homemade chicken noodle with cream of chicken in it. It sounds gross but it’s so good.
I make an awesome potato and chedder cheese soup. It is to die for.
I loveeee lovee cucumber soup.
Right now that would be Chicken Tortilla Soup. Ymmmm
I’m boring–but I love tomato soup!!