Last Tuesday night, Portland was hit with a snowstorm.
Last week in my post I mentioned that we don’t get much snow but we always get ice on top of it, making it difficult to get around the city. Well, what we got last Tuesday was a very un-Portland-like snowstorm. We got a foot or more of snow in most areas overnight.
I’m not even kidding. They were forecasting 4-6″ (still a lot for PDX) and then the city woke up in the morning to more snow than we could have possibly imagined. At my house we woke up to just over 12 inches of snow. Poor Bailey was basically covered in snow whenever she went out.
She handled it like a champ though. And then tried to take over blogging duties…
With a foot of snow and below freezing temperatures for a week, it has been the perfect time for soup.
This soup has been a favourite in my house for a few years and it’s finally, finally working its way to the blog. I have to prove that I can do more than just bake, right? 😉
I gotta admit, I do usually bake when I’m making this soup. It goes great with a variation of these gruyere and green olive rolls (I like gruyere/cheddar and onion, or just plain cheese).
This soup is the star of the show though. It’s rich, creamy and who doesn’t love a good bowl of broccoli cheese soup? If you know someone who doesn’t, give them a bowl of this. I promise neither you nor they will be disappointed.
Comforting soup that warms you from the inside out is my favourite kind of soup. I like to add some cayenne pepper for a little extra kick, but if that’s not your thing, feel free to omit it. Tabasco or other hot sauces are good options if you like a kick but don’t want to risk overdoing it with cayenne.
Go forth and conquer this soup. And if you’re like me a like to make your own chicken stock (I posted my “recipe” on the chicken stock picture on my instagram yesterday @bryonys_bakes_) this soup will be extra special 🙂
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- Florets from 3 large heads of broccoli
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 large russet potatoes, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. ground mustard
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, depending on your spice preference
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Blanch your broccoli by placing in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Step 2 In a large pot, melt your butter. Once butter is melted, add onion and potato. Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, then add in the salt, pepper, ground mustard and cayenne. Stir to coat then add the flour and stir again.
- Step 3 Add in the broccoli florets and pour in the chicken stock. Stir, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the milk and cheese.
- Step 4 Off the heat, use an immersion blender to blend your soup to your desired consistency. Keep warm in the pot until ready to serve. {I like to serve these with Gruyere or Cheddar rolls}
