Recipe Broccoli Smoked Gouda Soup

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I've been trying to make things that are less elaborate, and to cook based on instinct more than needing to craft a perfect recipe. What I made here was pretty easy, and I would have had everything I needed without consulting any recipe, but I did decide to skim through a few while I was making it. There are different ways to make broccoli soup, but I decided I liked the addition of a potato because the starch theoretically makes for a thicker soup. I would have forgotten the flour if I hadn't checked elsewhere, but otherwise I was on the right track.

I've decided that I prefer a blender over any other method (food processor, immersion blender) to get the contents pureed. It probably would have been creamy enough if I hadn't decided to add the smoked gouda, but wow does the cheese take it to a new level. I initially thought that I pureed it too much, and that I'd miss some chunkiness, but I'm getting over it.

You may note that there are a few croutons in the bowl. I may have overdone that, but I do like the contrast of smooth and crunchy in each bite.

Now, on with the recipe. I thought I'd be able to enter this into the potato recipe challenge, but I just missed it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄2 onion, diced
4 large garlic cloves, diced
3 tablespoons flour
24 ounces broccoli, chopped
1 lb russet potato, peeled and chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1⁄2 cup half-and-half
2 cups smoked gouda cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Saute onions until they start to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and heat for another minute will stirring constantly. Stir in flour and cook for another minute while stirring constantly.
2. Stir in chopped broccoli and potato, making sure to coat all pieces with the sauteed onion, garlic, and flour mixture.
3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower to medium heat and cook for another 20 minutes, or until broccoli and potato pieces soften. Stir in half-and-half.
4. Transfer everything to a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Return pureed mix to the pot. Stir in shredded gouda, Serve immediately.

http://www.food.com/recipe/broccoli-smoked-gouda-soup-531524

 

[Morning Glory]

This looks good! What made you decide on the smoked Gouda? Its an interesting choice. I wondered if you really need the flour if you are using poatoes. I've made a similar soup (not with Gouda but with Blue cheese) and I didn't use flour.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

This looks good! What made you decide on the smoked Gouda? Its an interesting choice. I wondered if you really need the flour if you are using poatoes. I've made a similar soup (not with Gouda but with Blue cheese) and I didn't use flour.

I've recently purchased this book, which has been really transformative in how I approach cooking. I used to think of what I wanted to make, and then scour the internet for examples so I could make my best interpretation. Now, I want to see if I can make a recipe...without a recipe. I knew what I needed to make a cream of broccoli soup, but I decided at the last minute to make it broccoli cheese soup. I checked my cheese bin to see what I had - it was going to be a far more traditional cheddar - and everything made sense when I saw the gouda. I can see how blue cheese or gorgonzola would also make sense, and I'm anxious to give that a try, too!

Even though I decided to make the soup without a recipe, I decided to check posted recipes to see if I was missing something important. Most seemed to add flour, so I added it. But, to be honest, I don't think it needs it. The potato provides enough of a starchiness.

 

[Morning Glory]

I've recently purchased this book, which has been really transformative in how I approach cooking. I used to think of what I wanted to make, and then scour the internet for examples so I could make my best interpretation. Now, I want to see if I can make a recipe...without a recipe. I knew what I needed to make a cream of broccoli soup, but I decided at the last minute to make it broccoli cheese soup. I checked my cheese bin to see what I had - it was going to be a far more traditional cheddar - and everything made sense when I saw the gouda. I can see how blue cheese or gorgonzola would also make sense, and I'm anxious to give that a try, too!

Even though I decided to make the soup without a recipe, I decided to check posted recipes to see if I was missing something important. Most seemed to add flour, so I added it. But, to be honest, I don't think it needs it. The potato provides enough of a starchiness.

That looks like an interesting book - I will look it up. I also use a rather special book in the same sort of way. Its called The Flavour Thesaurus by Nikki Segnit. In point of fact, its one of the prizes on offer in the current Spice Challenge (Turmeric). I think you would love it!

 

[Morning Glory]

The book you mentioned is due for launch here in September - for the whopping price of £28 ($36)! I'll have to wait until it becomes available in paperback or second-hand!

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I've decided that I want to make some things without recipes. I've always either consulted a variety of recipes when making something completely new, or I've developed and recorded recipes as I've made my own (so I don't lose something I really like). This time, I decided to make a soup that's similar in concept to the one above, but with Kale and Padano Cheese instead of instead of Broccoli and Smoked Gouda. I picked kale because I bought an enormous bag of it on discount ($1.49 for 5 pounds), and I had so much left over after making pesto. After making this recipe, I still have enough left to make more pesto (or something else?)

Now that I look at my recipe, I see that I could have included more garlic. The look of the soup with kale instead of broccoli is similar, but note all the tiny specks of kale that didn't quite liquefy. To be totally honest, I did try cooking the kale with the stems, but found that they didn't soften the way I expected (I was envisioning something like celery, but they're really more akin to a green tree branch). So, I had to pick them out before putting in the blender. The final result, though, was delicious.

 

[Morning Glory]

I've decided that I want to make some things without recipes. I've always either consulted a variety of recipes when making something completely new, or I've developed and recorded recipes as I've made my own (so I don't lose something I really like). This time, I decided to make a soup that's similar in concept to the one above, but with Kale and Padano Cheese instead of instead of Broccoli and Smoked Gouda. I picked kale because I bought an enormous bag of it on discount ($1.49 for 5 pounds), and I had so much left over after making pesto. After making this recipe, I still have enough left to make more pesto (or something else?)

Now that I look at my recipe, I see that I could have included more garlic. The look of the soup with kale instead of broccoli is similar, but note all the tiny specks of kale that didn't quite liquefy. To be totally honest, I did try cooking the kale with the stems, but found that they didn't soften the way I expected (I was envisioning something like celery, but they're really more akin to a green tree branch). So, I had to pick them out before putting in the blender. The final result, though, was delicious.

View attachment 7687

I don't mind the specks of kale - it is not a bad thing to have some texture and pattern in a soup.