Keyword: cheesy, comfort food, creamy, Fall and winter soups, quick and easy soups, vegetarian soups
Servings: 8cups
Calories: 337kcal
Equipment
Stock pot or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
1Tbspunsalted butter
1medium yellow onionfinely chopped
1/4cupunsalted butter
1/4cupall-purpose flour
2cupsvegetable stock
2cupshalf and half
2fresh broccoli, head and stems
2carrotspeeled and grated/shredded
1/4tsppaprika
1/2tspdry mustard
1/4tspblack pepper
1/8tspgrated nutmeg
2cups white cheddar cheesegrated
salt to taste
Instructions
Trim the stems off the broccoli heads.Separate the broccoli heads, or flowers into small florets and set aside.Peel the stems and cut into chunks. Steam or boil until just tender, then purée with a bit of the cooking liquid until smooth in a blender, or with a hand held immersion blender. Set aside.
Peel and chop the onion and peel and grate or shred the carrot.
Add 1 Tbsp butter to a Dutch oven or stock pot and heat over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of butter, once it has melted add the flour and stir together. Cook mixture about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the dry mustard and paprika and stir through.
Slowly whisk in 1/2 the vegetable stock. Continue to slowly add in the remaining stock and the half and half, whisking as you do so to ensure break up any lumps.Let cook for another minute or two, whisking frequently.
Whisk in the in the reserved purée from the broccoli stems .
Reduce the heat to low and add the broccoli florets and grated carrot, stir to combine. Let the soup simmer about 10-15 minutes or until thickened and broccoli is fork tender. Add more stock or some water to thin the soup as needed.
Purée the soup to your preferred texture in a blender, or using a hand-held immersion blender.TIP: For a more chunky texture, with lots of whole broccoli florets, remove a few ladles of the florets before you purée, then add them back into the soup.
Stir in the grated cheddar a handful at a time to melt, and incorporate into the soup. Add the grated nutmeg and pepper, taste, and add salt if needed.
Serve with freshly ground pepper and extra grated cheese on top.