Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love soup, have you noticed yet? In cold weather, there's nothing better. And this soup is a delicious way to consume a lot of vegetables and not mind one bit. This soup will freeze well, so you can make a big batch and save some for later. And the cheddar crackers from my last post make an excellent topping instead of starchy saltines.

{pureed using an immersion blender, before adding in the cheese}

{stirring in the cheeses}

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - adapted just slightly from Cook's Illustrated

serves 6-8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 (medium) cloves garlic, minced, or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tsps)

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 teaspoons brown mustard
Table salt
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, (but if you're a veggie who can eat starch, vegetable broth will work just fine) - I actually used turkey broth that I made from our thanksgiving turkey carcass and it was perfect
2 ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
3 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving
Ground black pepper

optional: 1/4 cup heavy cream

 1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, mustard, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup white wine 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 water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat. 

3. If you have an immersion blender, blend the soup right in the pot. If not, transfer soup to a blender (do this in parts, all of the soup won't fit in the blender at once) and process until smooth. Pour the soup back into the dutch oven and add Cheddar and Parmesan, and stir with a wooden spoon until melted and smooth about 1 minute.  

4. Put dutch oven back on medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water. If you'd like it a little creamier (like me), add in heavy cream and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

 

Starch-less Cheddar Crackers

Okay, I know what you're thinking. What the hell is this? Well, I promised you that I'd post the recipe for cheddar crackers and then promptly realized that I never got any good pictures of them before they were all gone. And I haven't had a chance to make them since. But as they go excellently with my last post (hot spinach dip), I figure I should just get to it. As well as going well with dip, they're also tasty broken up into little pieces as a topping for soup.

When you make these, err on the side of more thin. Mine were a little too thick because I didn't want to make them too thin, and of course I had the opposite problem. If they're not thin enough, they won't crisp up correctly. These would also make a good foundation for nachos. A later post!

And I promise when I get better pictures I'll redo this post.

Cheddar Crackers - adapted from Healing Foods
makes about 35
1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup sour cream
course salt
optional seasonings:
1/2 teaspoon dried sage and/or thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder - I used this...
1/2 paprika - ...and this

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Combine the cheddar with the almond flour, sour cream, and seasonings (except for course salt) and knead until all ingredients are combined.
3. Place the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Put another layer of parchment on top of the dough, then roll the dough between the two layers out until about 1/16 inch or 2mm thick.
4. Remove the top layer of parchment and press the course salt sparingly into the dough. Then with the edge of a knife, cut the dough into cracker-sized pieces.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until slightly browned. Let cool and store in an air tight container.