The Best Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love soup. This is a recipe for one of the best soups I make. The red bell pepper adds a nice sweetness while the nutmeg provides an extra layer of complexity. You can't go wrong with this recipe. Rich, cheesy goodness.

Ingredients

1/2 cup yellow onions, diced, about ½ onion
1/3 cup carrots, grated about 1 carrot
1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup celery diced, about 1 rib
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
1 1/4 cup broccoli finely chopped(See Notes)
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
2 cups freshly grated Cheddar(See Notes)
¾ cup freshly grated Colby cheese
Dash Worcestershire
2 Tbsp hot sauce

Directions

· In a medium pot, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.

· Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook until the mixture is well blended, 2 minutes.

· Slowly add the chicken stock, hot sauce and Worcestershire while stirring and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Puree the soup using blender in batches until smooth. (EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN BLENDING HOT LIQUIDS – DO NOT FILL BLENDER MORE THAN HALF WAY)

· Return the soup to the pot, add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes.

· Add the cream and bring to simmer to heat through. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. The cheese and seasonings can be adjusted to taste here.

· Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls.


Notes: Do not use the bagged pre-shredded cheese for this recipe. The cheese in these bags will not taste nearly as good as freshly grated cheese. Also, often times these cheeses are coated with a powder so they don’t stick together which will result in an undesirable consistency of this soup.

Notes: Puree the soup before adding the broccoli, this makes for better consistency and presentation, make sure to chop the broccoli as finely as possible

Other Variations:

Substitute cauliflower for broccoli
Add a touch of Dijon or 1 tbsp dried mustard
Experiment with different cheeses