Come on.
I know you love this soup.
I know that you tense up when you see it on the menu, or in a beauteous, hot cauldron in a cafeteria, or dining hall (such as mine for the two years I was a dining-hall-goer). It’s so good, but is basically, really, just cheese-drenched broccoli, and very little broccoli at that. I personally love this soup, but also have a bit of a problem eating essentially just cheese for dinner, cause my stomach is like “Hey, where’s the rest of the stuff?”. So I added more stuff to see what would happen. And let me tell you, it tastes just as good, and alas, not that expensive to make.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup with other Stuff in it
1 drizzle of olive oil
1 bunch broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic
1 cup shredded carrots
2 medium red-skinned potatoes, diced
1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1 teaspoon Teriyaki sauce
1 Cup of skim milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Separate the stems and the florets from the broccoli. Trim and discard the bottom of the broccoli stems. Finely chop the stems and coarsely chop the florets and set aside separately.
Drizzle olive oil in a large pot and heat over medium heat. Add the broccoli stems, onions, carrots and potatoes and cook, stirring, until softened, 7 to 10 minutes- then add garlic. Add broth, salt, teriyaki sauce, pepper, and nutmeg, and then reduce to a simmer.
In a medium saucepan, heat butter until melted, and then add flour, forming a roux. Slowly pour in milk until thickened. Slowly pour into vegetables and broth and allow simmering until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, combine the reserved florets and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and continue to steam until the florets are bright green and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the entire contents of the pot with the florets to the soup Stir to combine and remove from the heat. Garnish with basil, or whatever you like!