Cream of Broccoli Soup

I am big into soup lately.

Chicken noodle soup (coming soon!), carrot soup, and now, cream of broccoli soup.

This lovely soup was made on Monday, which was after Sunday (church+two services), which was after Saturday (rafting trip all day+apricot cheesecake at night). Which altogether meant I was very, very tired.

Slightly sore muscles, a lot on my mind, rainy/drizzly morning, and four heads of neglected broccoli at the bottom of the refrigerator pretty much settled it. I had to make soup. Stat.

I'll be totally honest. I hate when some recipes call for pureeing the soup with a blender. So annoying! It's a cinch if you have a handheld one, but if not (like me!), then it's a lot of extra work and a lot of extra dishes. Still, I think this soup was totally worth it. I ended up eating it for both brunch and early dinner.

Most importantly, I felt so much better, which I guess is what soup is supposed to do for you in the first place.

I like my soup slightly chunky, so I only pureed about 3/4 of the soup. If you like it completely smooth, then feel free to strain and puree all of the mixture. If you like it really chunky, then by all means leave it as is.

I suggest eating the soup while it's hot, with a dollop of cold sour cream. Feel free to improvise with extra ingredients or substitute ingredients.

Here's to amazing soup!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

*makes 6 servings*

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth (or a mix of broth and water)
• 8 cups broccoli florets
• 3 Tbsps butter
• 3 Tbsps flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• sour cream, for garnish

Directions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. 
4. Add the sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sour cream, if desired. Serve hot.

 From Allrecipes