Recipe By America's Test Kitchen
Published on November 13, 2024
When simply adding more broccoli didn’t generate enough vegetable flavor in our soup, we did some further research—and then threw out the rule book on vegetable cookery.
Time
1 hrYield
Serves 6 to 8Why This Recipe Works
Overcooking the broccoli in our Broccoli-Cheese Soup recipe coaxed all the flavor out of it. Adding a bit of baking soda to the cooking water sped up the cooking process, and pureeing fresh baby spinach along with the other ingredients brightened the Broccoli-Cheese Soup’s bright green color and enhanced its vegetable flavor. Finally, cheddar and Parmesan gave our soup adequate cheesy flavor without making it heavy.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
Table salt
3–4 cups water
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chicken broth
2 ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (¾ cup)
1 ½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about ¾ cup), plus extra for serving
Ground black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
Cook along with these step-by-step instructions
- Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda and bring to simmer. Cover and cook, adjusting heat to maintain simmer, until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
- Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.
Ask ATK
Have a Question?
We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a message anytime and we’ll get back to you. We’re here to help!
0 Comments