Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup

There is a national restaurant chain that has a really good broccoli cheddar cheese soup. I think you know where I’m talking about. It’s delicious, it’s cheesy, it’s just oh so good. Well, this post will go over how to duplicate that at home. It’s just as cheesy and creamy as the original. But it’s better, because you made it.

The components

This is essentially a cheese soup with broccoli added. We will need the aromatics, a mirepoix for the flavor base of the soup. And we will need to make a roux for the for the cheese part of the soup. And to round everything out, some stock will be required. So, the point here is to show how individual dishes are made from combining other recipes, just like building blocks. Once you have the basics worked out, it just comes together easily. So, lets look at the individual components, feel free to follow the links for a more in depth explanation

The components

First the aromatics. This is the soup flavor base, it’s called Mirepoix. It gives the soup a flavor depth. Onion, carrot and celery sweated in a pan with a little oil. just don’t burn them, low heat and stirring to prevent sticking. This soup will not get blended like many of my other soups. The vegetables will have to be cut up fine. So, 1/2 an onion, two each of carrots and celery sticks and a couple of garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste. Sweat those down in a pan to cook, without burning, with a tablespoon spoon of oil over medium heat, keep the lid on to keep the flavors in. If the mirepoix is cooked before the roux is done, remove from the heat.

Now, while the mirepoix is cooking we can make a roux. The roux is a thickener and gives the cheese something to mix with. The cheese will melt and blend with the roux and will give the soup it’s smooth texture. The secret to a good roux is the keep whisking. But also to use room temperature milk. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this, take the milk out at least 10 mins before you use it, or microwave for 30 seconds to bring to room temperature. Pour out 2 cups of milk and set aside. Over a medium low heat melt 1/4 cup of butter, in an appropriate size pan, when melted add 1/4 cup of flour and whisk together and keep whisking. You’re going to want to cook the butter flour mixture about 10 mins before you add the milk.

While stirring the butter flour mixture add the milk little by little, constantly whisking to prevent clumping. There will come a point where the mixture will stop bubbling and thickening, at that point add the rest of the milk, turn the heat to medium high while stirring. As it comes to a boil it will thicken. There, the hard part is done.

The build

Well the components of the soup are coming together nicely. The roux with the milk is done, the mirepoix is done. Now to move on to the building phase. Now combine 2 cups of chicken stock and the mirepoix and the roux, in a 5qt stock pot, stir well to mix and simmer for about 15 mins. This is were the aromatics and the roux and the chicken stock get to play a little together and the individual flavors get a chance to mix

Of course we’re missing the two most important ingredients, the two components that lend their name to the title. Well, now is that time. To the soup mixture add 2 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, mix this well till all the cheese is melted, keep the heat at a simmer. Once the cheese has completely melted, add 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets. You don’t want the broccoli to be chunky, the florets have to be small for a few reasons. Firstly, you want them to cook quickly, and if you go to the restaurant chain I had mentioned, well, their soup doesn’t have big chunks of broccoli. So cut them pretty small. Let the whole thing come together for 5 mins and serve.

So, there you have it, broccoli cheddar cheese soup. There was a lot of work to it with multiple components, but it’s damn delicious. Enjoy your hard work. Thank You