Cream of broccoli cheese soup

[forgetmenot]

Hello,
I just made cream of broccoli soup for the very first time.
It's really rather tasty for my first time cream of soup, if I do say so myself.
Problem: It's gritty/grainy. Like the broccoli isn't *creamed* smoothly.
(Hope that makes sense! )

I started with sauteed onions, then added fresh broccoli not frozen, with some chicken stock/broth.
Boiled turned down to simmer about 10 minutes.
Mixed with a hand blender.
Added heavy cream, a little more broth, then some mild cheddar. Salt/pepper and nutmeg to taste.

What did I do wrong? Is the hand blender not strong enough? Or did I not cook the broccoli long enough? Does it need to cook longer?

Help!
I'd like to make lots of soups this season (health reasons) and cream of broccoli cheese is dh favorite! I'd hate to spoil it for him lol!

Wendy Darling

[Suzanne]

I find it just about impossible to puree the florets -- they always seem to stay sandy. So another possibility for the next time is to just use the stalks, not the florets. Peel the stalks, dice them, cook until soft, and proceed as you did. It's a great way to use up the stalks, if you and yours prefer the florets as a pretty veg.

And, forgive me, but dh isn't named Peter, is he? (Sorry, I'll bet you get that all the time. )

[forgetmenot]

Nah... it's not Peter... Though I do tease him he is...

Actually though not many people know who Wendy Darling is...

I usually get the "How's my dad, Dave?" Wendy's.. fries with the shake sort of thing...

Anyhow.. THANK YOU! I had no clue about the floret thing! And I LOVE love LOVE the stalks! I peel um and eat um like carrot sticks all the time! I will try it your way next time!

One time I put the peeled stalks in a broccoli/bacon/cheese/raisin salad and everyone loved the "little square green things" they thought they were so sweet... "what vegetable *is* that??" Imagine their surprise to hear BROCCOLI!

Wendy M. Darling

[jigz369]

I tend to make broccoli soup a bit differently. First, I peel the stalks and use the peel to make my stock. I mince the stalks and saute until almost dissolved to nothing, then add to the strained stock. Make your cream soup with the stock and thicken as desired. You can use your hand blender at this point if you still have graininess. Once you've cooked the starch out of the soup, lightly saute the florettes (small pieces) and add to the end for visual appeal. This should eliminate the graininess and give a great looking soup. I don't like to cook the florettes too much as they tend to turn grey when overcooked.
Just my opinion though....

[Mezzaluna]

Actually though not many people know who Wendy Darling is...

Aren't you Peter Pan's girlfriend??

[forgetmenot]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

Aren't you Peter Pan's girlfriend??

Yes, I was once ... a long while ago ... but he refused to grow up but I do visit him often in Neverland...

[greyeaglem]

It might be the cheddar cheese making your soup grainy. Cheddar doesn't melt very well, which is why I don't like it in mac and cheese because it has a grainy texture.

[DC Sunshine]

I'g go with what others said about using the stalks ...Have you tried sieving it before adding the cheddar? I find this helps sometimes. And if you want to use the florets, maybe blanch them separately for a few minutes, refresh in ice water, then add to soup to reheat just before serving.

Make sure you wash them thoroughly first - maybe some grit is coming into it from there.

Also as per what greyeaglem said you might like to play a bit and try a different cheese and see what happens.

DC

[forgetmenot]

hmm... I like the idea that it may be the cheddar cheese.

Ok... I'm going to show just how kitchen dyslexic I am... ....
How do you sieve it?

[oldschool1982]

In keeping with Cheftalk's policy of not reproducing any "copyrighted material" I'll make this post...... So it's not even close to the original. Yet.... then again......

Peel 2#'s broccoli stalks and cut into 1/2 random pieces. add to 1 gallon chicken stock with 1 onion, cut in random pieces and cook until soft. Remove from heat and strain, reserving liquid for use later. Puree broccoli stalk pieces and onions in a food processor. Combine reserved cooking liquid and puree in stock pot and heat over medium flame. Add 2lbs cubed velvetta cheese with 2cups heavy cream and 2cups 1/2-1/2. make traditional roux (equal parts butter and flour) and add as needed until thick (Nape).

Strain through sieve or chinoise and hold for service.

Serve topped with blanched broccoli florets and shredded cheddar cheese.

[shel]

Originally Posted by jigz369

I tend to make broccoli soup a bit differently. First, I peel the stalks and use the peel to make my stock.

NIce tip!

Shel

[thorkon]

I just made this soup today and kinda put sharp cheddar after everything else. I am just starting cooking anything and so far i succesfully made beef vegetable soup so far.

My cream of broccoli is coming out like the person who made this topic said. Kinda gritty but i also think my "broth?" is not really....creamy. I used water and vitamin D milk. Any way to salvage the soup?


Thanks for any responses.

PS: What should I try next to make, soup wise? (I'm up for anything)

[DC Sunshine]

Forgetmeknot - pass the soup thru a sieve. Pour it into a sieve over a pot/bowl and stir the soup in a sieve with a spoon until it all goes thru. Get rid of the stuff in the sieve and continue. (Rinse out your soup making pot before putting the sieved soup back in).

Thorkon - Not sure how to rescue that one - maybe next time follow oldschool's suggestions above. You might try sieving it then blending with a processor/stick mixer again.

Add some cream

Cream of pumpkin is usually pretty fail safe - would suggest that for your next one.

Lots of soup recipes if you search for them in this forum - there's a current thread that you might want to look at.

Good Luck!
DC

[thorkon]

Thanks, I had it in the fridge over night and it thickened a bit. It's better than i remembered yesterday still yearning for more of a cheese taste so i will probably go out and by some to throw on top when i heat up a bowl of it. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably just leave it to the professionals next time on that soup and scout around for another one.