Broccoli & Cheese Soup

Submitted by PalatablePastime

"A great soup, one of the deli classics."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup margarine or 1/4 cup butter
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 1⁄2 cups milk
• 2 cups chopped broccoli, cooked crisp-tender
• 1 -2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1⁄4 cup chopped celery

directions

1. Saute onion and celery in butter in saucepan over medium heat until tender.
2. Add flour, and salt and pepper, cooking and stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
3. Add broth and milk (all at once), stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
4. Add cooked broccoli (I like to steam mine then cool in cold water to preserve color), stirring until all is heated through.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted and smooth (place back on heat briefly if necessary).

Reviews

[TiaGem]

Woweee!!!! This was SO, SO, SO good!!!! I have been wanting a good recipe for this soup and my search is over! Sue, I never heard of steaming the broccoli first but it sure did preserve the BRIGHT green of the broccoli and made it look so much more appetizing than the gray-green color it fades to after extended cooking. I followed the recipe exactly except for the addition of about 1/4 c. of diced ham that I needed to use up. Next time I will double the recipe!

 

[ChipotleChick]

Yum! I Did not see a specification for the amount of celery, so I used 1/4 cup, finely chopped. I also added some cubed ham when I added the broccoli. Served it with a loaf of french bread. Wonderful! [Editor's Note: recipe was edited as a result of this comment 12/17/02]

 

[elektrofire]

Love it. Tastes as good, if not better then restaurants. I like to add shredded carrots (and sometimes shredded cabbage) as well. I also use 1/2 the salt and double the pepper using black. I use fresh broccoli and find that it retains its bright green color after 1hr of cooking/cooling. If i lack time, steaming first while the rest cooks will be my go-to method. Using 2 cups of broth and 1 1/2 cups of milk still give it a great rich flavor and thickness, while cutting out a little of the fat.

 

[spiritussancto]

i didn't have any celery but i added two big garlic cloves to the onions. used only 2 cups of 1% milk and that was plenty. the broth became a cup of water and a broth cube. added a bit of dill too. i found this only made 2 meal-sized bowls. would have made 4 side-dish-sized cups. this was very easy and wonderful comfort food. will certainly make again.

 

[HopeJohnJP]

Straightforward, simple and tasty. I doubled the ingredients. Following some other reviews, I substituted a little shaved carrot for the celery and used half 2% milk and half light cream. I also pureed the thickened mixture before adding the broccoli.