×

NORTH COUNTRY KITCHEN: Broccoli cheese soup: Classic American dish

Soup is warm, soothing, nourishing and satisfying. You don’t even have to chew it. It’s the ultimate comfort food.

Soup is what Mom made when you were sick. She had a pot of hot soup ready when you came home from playing out in the snow. Soup was served when you were feeling sad or under the weather.

Broccoli, a nutritional superstar, is often served in creamed soup. Low in calories, it is high in vitamins A, C and K, minerals potassium, calcium and iron, and a great source of fiber and antioxidants. As a member of the cruciferous vegetable family (along with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage), broccoli contains anticancer agents like indoles and quercetin. In order to retain the nutrients, it’s best to keep the cooking time short.

The green florets have been popular in Italy for centuries, but unknown in the United States until the early 20th century. In 1925, two Italian immigrants, Stephano and Andrea D’Arrigo, established Andy Boy, a flourishing vegetable business in southern California. One of the vegetables they brought with them from Italy was broccoli soon, broccoli became popular in America.

Medieval cookbooks Le Viandier and Le Menagier de Paris include several recipes for pureed vegetable soups. But it was not until the 19th century era of luxurious eating that creamed vegetable soups, with their velvety-smooth texture and rich buttery flavor, became a popular part of classic French cuisine. Cooked vegetables are bound together with flour and enriched with cream and/or egg.

In 1990, Campbell’s soup company introduced its most successful new soup in 55 years, condensed Cream of Broccoli, with the “Get President George Bush to Eat Broccoli” recipe contest. We’re all familiar with the “M’m! M’m! Good!” jingle. When the soup debuted, Campbell Soup Company published a recipe booklet of broccoli dishes prepared using their canned cream of broccoli soup. One example is its use as a sauce in chicken dishes, as in Campbell’s 2-step chicken broccoli divan recipe. Quick to follow were Campbell’s broccoli cheese soup, chunky chicken broccoli cheese soup and cream of chicken and broccoli soup.

Today, cream of broccoli and broccoli cheese soup remain popular, but both have developed a poor repute due to their traditionally high calorie and fat content. The canned varieties all taste the same, and in most restaurant versions the vegetables play second fiddle to a bowl of thick cream sauce or glorified fondue. Traditional broccoli-cheese soup, made with lots of butter, cream and Cheddar cheese can have 400 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat per serving.

Most restaurant versions offer just a few tiny broccoli florets immersed in a bowl of cheese. For example, a bowl of Einstein Bros. Broccoli Cheese Soup has 470 calories, 33 grams of fat and almost 2,000 milligrams of sodium. At Panera Bread, a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup is 350 calories and 23 fat grams. At TGIFridays, the same soup rings in at 300 calories and 25 grams of fat. Not a very healthy concoction.

But that is not how it should be. A little sharp Cheddar cheese does give broccoli cheese soup flavor and a rich, creamy texture. But the star of the show should be the broccoli, not the cheese. Butter and cream should be relegated to minor character roles.

When making it at home, you can cut down on the fat by using milk instead of cream, less butter, more broccoli and adding other vegetables. Homemade cream of broccoli or broccoli cheese soup can be a good source of vegetables, calcium and protein. It is one of the easiest soups to make, and takes advantage of remnants of last year’s vegetable harvest in our freezer.

Use your imagination. The main ingredients – broccoli, broth and milk or cream remain the same. But other ingredients that can be added to vary the flavor are nearly limitless. Onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms or potatoes add flavor and texture. Leave it chunky – or puree to make it smooth and creamy. Add chicken or ground meat. Experiment with herbs and spices.

Basic Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cups broth (see below for making your own)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste

1 medium potato

About 6 cups frozen broccoli florets (or 1 bunch broccoli)

2 Tablespoon flour

1 cup milk (skim if you’re on a diet or half and half if you like it rich)

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese if you want a cheese soup (optional)

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 small carrot, grated

Directions:

Cook onion, garlic, salt and black pepper in olive oil in a large stock pot. Chop the potato and the broccoli, and add to the pan with broth. Cook five to 10 minutes or to desired tenderness. Remove from heat. This can be done early in the day and refrigerated.

In a jar with a tight lid, combine milk or cream with flour; shake vigorously. Pour into saucepan and heat slowly, stirring, until thick. Add cheese, if desired, and cook until it melts.

Combine with cooled (not hot) soup and stir. Use an immersion blender if you want to puree the soup.

Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley and grated raw carrot.

To prepare broth, start with about 3 cups of water in a saucepan. Add a little salt, a bay leaf or two, a few grains of allspice and one chicken thigh. Bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer. While the broth is cooking, dice up the root vegetables (celery stalk, carrot, onion or leek, parsnip,) and add them to the pot. Cook 30 minutes or longer (you can cook this in a Crock-Pot all day), until the chicken and vegetables are done. Remove the chicken to a plate, cool, remove the bones, dice it up and return it to the pot.

Notes:

1. Try other vegetables in place of or in addition to broccoli. A couple suggestions: cauliflower or kale.

2. Omit cheese for cream soup; add cheese for cheese soup.

Mom’s Cauliflower soup with Egg Drop Noodles

Ingredients:

6 cups water

1 chicken thigh

1 teaspoon salt

Few grains allspice

1 bay leaf

1 small carrot (or half large)

1 small parsnip

Piece of leek

Piece of celery root or 1 stalk celery, cut up

1 small head cauliflower (or 1/2 large) or about 6 cups florets

1 egg

1 Tablespoon flour

Few drops milk or water (if needed)

1 cup fresh minced parsley

1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

Place water, chicken thigh, salt, allspice and bay leaf in soup kettle. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.

While the above is cooking, prepare the vegetables (carrot, parsnip, leek, celery) and add.

Simmer 30 to 40 minutes.

Add cauliflower, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes longer.

Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Dice vegetables & cauliflower; remove meat from bones & cut up; remove allspice and bay leaf (if you can find them). Taste, and add more salt if needed.

Return vegetables and meat to pot. Mash coarsely with potato masher.

Make egg drop noodles:

In a large mug, beat 1 egg with 1 Tablespoon flour. It should be a very thick liquid – still pourable – the consistency of pancake dough or honey or sour cream.

Return the soup to a rolling boil. Pour the dough from the mug in a thin stream into the boiling soup. Cover, reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes, then turn off heat.

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and a little sour cream, if desired.

Serves four.

Author of the award-winning cookbook Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market, Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: cooking and writing. She can be reached at www.wordsaremyworld.com or on Facebook as Author Yvona Fast.

Starting at $1.44/week.

Subscribe Today