1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth (or
vegetable)
2 cups milk (I used 2% cow's)
2 (10-ounce) bags of frozen broccoli florets or fresh and trimmed equivalent
1/2 diced white onion
1/2 teaspoon
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
to add later:
1 cup each of three different cheeses, I used jarlsberg, gruyere, and cheddar
The Directions.
Mince the onion into really small pieces. I used my pampered chef chopper thingy.
The onions are going to soften in the milk and the broth, and need to be quite small so
you don't crunch on onion pieces when the soup is complete.
Add the onion to your crockpot, and top with the milk, broth, and spices.
Stir in the two frozen bags of broccoli.
Cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. The broth is done when the onion is cooked nicely.
20 minutes or so before serving, shred all the cheese you are going to use, and stir it in.
The cheese will be stringy and will stick to the broccoli florets---that's
okay!
To naturally thicken the broth and get it to all blend together nicely you can use a handheld immersion blender -- this will give a better texture and presentation, but it's not completely necessary -- it's up to you.
Serve with your favorite rolls or drop biscuits.
The Verdict.
This is the best broccoli and cheese soup I have ever had. That sounds like a big stretch or an exaggeration, but this so very much beats the canned soup, or the stuff I've had at Fresh Choice or Panera.
And that's the only other broccoli and cheese soup I've had---so this wins.
:-)
