Meatless Monday: Roasted Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

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I thought of tonight’s Meatless Monday recipe last week.  I was trying to remember some of my other go-to soup recipes as we got hit with a full-on winter cold spell around here!  I remembered how good this soup tastes!  It may appear to be a difficult recipe because of roasting the broccoli, but it takes no time at all and really adds another depth to the flavor.  Hubby was satisfied with one bowl!

We were down at my sister’s for Halloween last Friday, so we were able to check out the PTC Farmers Market Saturday morning.  If y’all live in the area, check out the “almost perfect” table at Annie’s Baking table.  I got a bag of muffins and a whole wheat loaf of bread for $5.  What a deal!  While, soup and grilled cheese is a favorite cold-weather meal, somehow cheese soup AND a cheese sandwich just seems like a bit much.  (My Hubby would disagree, I’m sure!)  Instead, I toasted a couple of slices in the oven with a small pat of butter after the broccoli was done roasting and then rubbed it with the cut side of a garlic clove.  I also fixed a small side salad with red onions, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Munchkin is still learning how to use a spoon to actually eat, rather than just make noise, but we dipped some pieces of bread into the soup for him.  I’m a firm believer that kids should eat what the rest of the family eats.  Thankfully, our little eater hasn’t made it an issue, yet.  (I’m hoping it never happens!)  He happily gobbles up whatever is put in front of him.

I found this recipe several years ago on The Kitchn.  This is one of my favorite sites for recipes and general kitchen know-how.  Check it out!

Roasted Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil, divided
1 leek, washed (I bought a pre-trimmed leek to save on prep time)
1 medium waxy potato
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/2 pounds)
6 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock or water (I used a combination of vegetable stock that I had leftover from this recipe and made up the difference with water)
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedge
Crème fraîche or yogurt (optional) (I used Crème fraîche; sour cream or even goat cheese would work as well!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Thinly slice the white and light green portion of the leek. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the sliced leek. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leek is soft. While the leek cooks, peel and chop the potato into 1-inch chunks. Add the stock and potato to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.

While the stock is coming to a boil, chop the broccoli into florets and spread onto two sheet pans. If the excess broccoli stalks are tender and tasty, they can be peeled and added to the pans. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the broccoli, sprinkle with a little salt and put the pans in the oven. Roast for 5 minutes. Stir the broccoli and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Once the stock is boiling, add the broccoli and bring to boil again. Simmer until both the potatoes and broccoli pieces are tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Puree soup with an immersion blender or in batches with a regular blender. Add the cheese and stir until it has melted and incorporated into the soup. Taste soup and adjust the seasoning. If you are not serving the soup with crème fraîche or yogurt, add a squeeze of lemon. Serve topped with a small dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt, or a grind of fresh pepper.

Roasted Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

Roasted Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

My favorite kitchen gadget during cold weather is my immersion blender.  If you don’t have one, I would seriously recommend investing in one.  You will save so much time (and sanity!) not having to transfer soups in and out of a blender or food processor.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy;  ours is actually a hand-me-down from Hubby’s grandfather.  I’m not sure what he was doing with an immersion blender to begin with, but we definitely lucked out as a result!  I had no idea what I was missing!

Bon Appétit!

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  1. Pingback: Throwback Thursday: Happy Halloween! | Listfull Days

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