Broccoli and Potato Soup on a cold day...mmmmm!

A nice warm soup on a cold day has to be one of my most favourite meals to eat and to cook.  Over the years I have learnt that no two soups are EVER the same and I never end up following a recipe when I make soup. I bought a head of broccoli on the weekend and I have been talking about making a broccoli soup for a couple of days.  I usually have to do a little convincing when I want to put soup on the menu. My husband isn't a huge fan of soup and usually prefers more of a stew than a soup.  This one is a potato base to it is nice and thick, it passed the test.

I tried a couple of new tricks while making this soup.  I learnt them from Chef Michael Smith from the food network show Chef at Home.  The first is to grate the potato instead of cubing it before it is put into the pot with sautéed onions and chicken broth.  This is a great way to speed up a weeknight meal, since the grated potato cooks a lot faster than bigger cubes.  The second technique was to use the broccoli stem for the soup puree but leave the broccoli florets whole and adding them to the soup a just before serving.

Here you can see the nice big chunks of broccoli floating around in the soup.....delicious!

                 

My husband and I enjoyed the soup, it was a nice light weeknight meal.  Great for a cold night out in the country. 

Broccoli and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups 1% milk
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and grated
• 1 head of broccoli, stems chopped and florets set aside
• salt and pepper to taste
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes
3. Add garlic and cook for another minutes.
4. Add stock, grated potato and broccoli stems
5. Season to taste
6. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes and broccoli are soft.
7. Add cinnamon and check seasoning.  Remove from heat and puree using a hand held blender.
8. Return soup to heat and add broccoli florets and cheese.  It will take about 5 minutes for the florets to warm and cheese to melt.
9. Serve!

Enjoy!