Food & Nutrition

With spring in the air, a bowl of cream of broccoli soup brings a little warmth on a brisk day and liven you up with its green color and taste of creaminess. Broccoli is an easy vegetable to prepare in a variety side dishes, soups, and entrees. Let me first take a moment to tell you a little more about this amazing vegetable.

Broccoli has a nutrient rich profile; it is a good carb and rich in fiber. More importantly, broccoli offers a variety of health benefits of consumption such as: an aid to digestion, prevents constipation, helps maintain low blood sugar, and curbs overeating. When buying broccoli look for stems not too thick or tough, firm, with compact cluster of small flower buds and a dark deep green color. Broccoli will stay fresh 2 to 3 days in breathable packaging stored in the vegetable draw of the refrigerator. Discard broccoli when the buds wilt and become a yellow color and are in a soft condition.

Broccoli can be prepared raw, boiled, steamed, sautéed, roasted, or blanched. Give your store-bought broccoli a through rinse under cold water. Trim off the woody end of the stalk. Continue trimming to the desired size. The simplest method is to submerge the broccoli in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Use this same preparation technique to prepare the following cream of broccoli soup.

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CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

Course Soups

Keyword Soups

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 8

Author N. J. Sorensen, RDN

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccoli
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 5 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• dash cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Trim off and sort the top flowerets off the bunch of broccoli. Set aside separately for garnishing the soup. Cut the remaining broccoli into 2-inch pieces.
• Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, bring 2 quarts of water to the boil. Add the broccoli flowerets to the boiling water and cook until tender. About 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the broccoli pieces and set aside. Repeat process for the remaining broccoli pieces.
• In a separate medium sauce pan melt the butter and add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. Mix well. Stirring rapidly, add the chicken broth. Over medium heat, stir and cook the mixture until thicken and smooth. Add the broccoli pieces and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Using a hand held mixer, blend until smooth. Bring to the boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the broccoli flowerets, heavy cream, milk, nutmeg, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
• Serve hot.

Recipe By: N. Jay Sorensen, RD

Serving Size: 8 Preparation Time: 0:30

Categories: Soup

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1    pound mushroom — sliced

1    medium onion — diced

3    stalks celery — diced

2    cloves fresh garlic — finely chopped

4    tablespoons whole butter

4    tablespoons flour, all-purpose

1 ½    teaspoons chicken bouillon

¼    teaspoon white pepper

1 ¼    quarts water

1    cup heavy cream

In a medium sauce pan, sauté garlic in butter. Add onions and celery, cook until soft. Add mushrooms, cook until soft. Add flour and mix well, cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add water and chicken bouillon and mix well. Bring to a boil. Using a hand held mixer, blend until smooth. Bring to the boil. Add heavy cream and white pepper.