Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

The inspiration behind this soup came from a restuarant we ate at last weekend. We didn't even eat the soup there- it was just on the specials board. But I have been thinking about the soup all week (yep, life is pretty exciting for us).
The final product didn't disappoint. Creamy, rich and tasty, but you definately need lots of bitey cheddar cheese to add lots of flavour.


Broccoli and Cheddar Soup:
6 tbs butter
3 tbs plain flour
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
4 heads of broccoli (stems and florets seperated)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
 6 cups chicken stock
2 cups of grated strong cheddar cheese

 Chop the broccoli stems into bite size pieces.
In half the butter fry the onion and broccoli stems for 4-5 minutes.
Add the garlic and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and boil until the stems are tender (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and add it to the plain flour to make a thick paste.
Add the cream, milk and butter/flour paste into the soup, whisking to combine.
Add the broccoli florets (these are added now so they don't overcook and lose their colour).
Cook until tender (another 5-10 minutes).
Blend together either in a food processor or using a sick blender.
Add the cheddar cheese and stir to combine whilst still hot.

Cauliflower Soup

Cream of anything soup sounds pretty daggy- like something that should come out of a packet.

This is a very simple and quick recipe and a great way to use up one of our favourite vegetables.  When we tried to get our daughter to taste the "cauliflower" recently she tried to sniff it, as if it were a flower. I thought this was very abstract of her! Unfortunately, she still refuses to eat any.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup:

25g Butter
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
2 brown onions, finely chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup full cream milk
1/4 cup cream

Melt butter and olive oil together. Add the onions and cook gently for 2 minutes (don't let them brown up). Add the cauliflowe and fry for a further couple of minutes.

Add the stock and milk and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the mixture in a blender or with a stick blender. Return to the pot and add the cream. Season with salt and pepper.

We added some crusty garlic bread to satisfy our carb cravings.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

The flowers and stems on the Jeresalem artichokes have now died off, which means the crazy potato-like/ artichoke like vegetable is ready to pick and eat.

They look like this after you pull them out of the ground and you just have to scrub the skin to clean them.

We cooked up this lovely Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Horseradish Quenelles. It's from a cookbook of ours called Saturday and Sundays which is full of beautiful recipes and pretentious ways to enjoy them (e.g. light supper after the opera, slow brunch whilst sailing). It was suggested you might enjoy this soup as a supper with a game of backgammon! But beware the impact of a huge amount of jerusalem artichokes on your belly!

The quenelles are a bit involved, but are a nice addition to the soup.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Horseradish Quenelles:

For the quenelles:
2 egg yolks
1 tbs of melted butter 
1/4 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 tbs horseradish sauce
1/4 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped chives

For the soup:
500g Jerusalem artichokes scrubbed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
300mL cream
1 tbs butter
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic
Parsley to garnish

Slice the artichokes thickly and add to a saucepan with the lemon juice, salt and enough cold water just to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain and cool.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan- add the tomato and garlic and cook gently until the tomato has broken up. Puree with the artichokes and cream. Add extra boiling water if the texture is too thick.


To make the quenelles, whisk the egg yolks with melted butter until frothy; stir in remaining ingredients. 
Heat 5cm water until simmering in a deep frypan. Shape quenelle mixture using 2 tablespoons and gently lower into the water. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve soup with cooked quenelles and garnish with parsley.