CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP
Addictive broccoli soup
This rich soup is a real flavor treat for everyone, even for people who
don't normally eat broccoli. It can be served as the only course in a light
meal. The soup is at its best when served with hot, hard French finger rolls
and freshly squeezed cool orange juice. It is my own original recipe. You
will not have tried it anywhere else except at my house. Enjoy.
Ingredients
(serves 4-6)
- 2 bunches, fresh broccoli
(each about
3 in
bottom diameter, banded)
- 1/2 lb butter
- 2-6 cloves of fresh garlic,
chopped fine. (Use less or more to taste.)
- 1 Tbsp chervil
(fresh or dried, finely chopped)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 3 cups milk
(use full-cream milk (homogenized))
- 1 medium egg yolk,
beaten
- 1/4 cup flour
(no lumps)
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp mace
- 1 cup heavy cream
("whipping" cream preferred)
- 1/3 cup Gruyere cheese
(fresh, grated fine)
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
(fresh, grated to powder)
Procedure
-
Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces.
Discard the hard stem pieces, but keep tender leaves and stem parts.
-
Steam the cut broccoli for about 5-8 minutes, until just
bright green in color. Do not overcook.
-
In a
10-inch
enameled (non-metal) skillet, heat
6 oz
of butter until
melted. Add chopped garlic and wait until butter is hot enough to cook in.
Add steamed broccoli, then chervil to the skillet. Lightly salt the broccoli.
-
Cover, and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden
spoon, for another 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli turns a darker
green color and becomes very soft.
-
Mash the broccoli right in the skillet
until no large pieces remain. Use a potato masher or a strong wooden spoon.
Mash until there are no pieces remaining that are too big to fit in a soup
spoon.
-
While broccoli is cooking, add beaten egg yolk to
2 cups
of milk.
-
Put
3 Tbsp
butter into a 2-3
quart
saucepan. Use enamel or glass for best
soup flavor. Metal pans will make this soup bitter. Melt butter and add
flour. When the flour bubbles and starts to cook, add the egg/milk
mixture into the saucepan. Add the cardamom, mace, and white pepper. Stir
contents of saucepan constantly with wooden spoon until thick. Lower the
cooking heat.
-
Empty the mashed broccoli mixture
into the saucepan. Stir until well-mixed. Slowly stir in the remaining milk
and the cream. As soon as the soup becomes hot enough to cook again,
add the grated cheeses.
-
Turn the heat down lower and simmer for about 5 more minutes,
stirring to allow the cheeses to melt and mix while the table is being set.
Serve immediately and retire quickly so as not to be trampled by those who
smelled it cooking.
Notes
This recipe may be doubled, halved or whatever without penalty. Vary the
amount of milk added the second time to change the soup thickness to your own
tastes. You also may use any fresh green vegetable as a substitute for
the broccoli. Asparagus tips, artichoke hearts, and corn are especially nice.
Cook them in the same way as you did the broccoli. Use any leftover butter
on the hard French finger rolls. Warning: This soup is a mild aphrodisiac
when served as suggested and by candlelight. Use Bailey's Irish Cream as a
chaser.
Rating
Difficulty:
moderate.
Time:
30 minutes.
Contributor
George Robertson
Fort Worth, Texas
(ihnp4!sys1!sysvis!ger)
Recipe last modified: 15 Apr 86
Original header
Path: decwrl!recipes
From: george@sysvis (George E. Robertson)
Newsgroups: mod.recipes
Subject: RECIPE: Broccoli soup
Message-ID: <3185@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Date: 23 May 86 03:39:28 GMT
Sender: recipes@decwrl.DEC.COM
Organization: Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, Texas
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