Broccoli and Aged Cheddar Soup

I love making soup.  There's just something about a lovely smelling soup simmering away on the stove on a frosty winter evening that makes me smile. This is a recipe that I've never made before, but I decided to give it a try for dinner last night. As you will see in my review below, the soup came out a bit thinner than I was expecting (I was thinking it would be about the same consistency as a chowder), but through some stroke of refrigerator magic it seemed to thicken up in the fridge overnight and was super delicious for lunch today.

Oh, and...

Super Helpful Tip: Make sure that when you buy cheese for this recipe you only buy one cup, not eight cups because that's what you wrote down on your shopping list by mistake (not that anyone would ever do that...haha! Ahem. Cough). Enjoy!



Broccoli and Aged Cheddar Soup

Ingredients
2 onions, diced
8 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces
3 tbsp. olive oil ("Oh, Popeye!")
3 tbsp. butter
8 cups vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup aged cheddar cheese, grated (I used light aged cheddar)
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/2 cup fresh parsley

Directions
In a large soup pot, saute onions and broccoli in oil and butter. Add stock and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 20 minutes.

Double double toil and trouble

Puree using a food processor or blender/hand blender, and return to pot over low heat.

I like how obvious the instructions are on my blender

Add cream, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10-15 more minutes.

Not pictured between the last picture and this one:
an explosion of pureed broccoli all over my kitchen!

Turn heat off and whisk in sherry and parsley. If the soup isn't thick enough for your liking, you can always whisk in a little roux made of equal parts of flour and oil, or flour and butter, at the end (1/4 cup of each). Enjoy!

Serves: About 12

Megan's Review: This soup came out a bit thinner than I was expecting, even after adding the roux at the end. After refrigerating overnight though, it was nice and thick for lunch today. The flavour was tasty...not exactly what I had in mind, but still good. I would love to hear your comments below on how to modify the recipe to make it even better. The Hubby's review is quite a bit different than mine...
The Hubby's Review: ...Awesome! One of the best soups I've ever had.

Recipe Source: Whitewater Cooks (http://www.whitewatercooks.com)