In my former life full of gluten and many other now-forbidden foods, I don’t think I ever made broccoli cheese soup, probably because my kids hated broccoli. They preferred a creamy potato soup that I considered a fine substitute. If I wanted broccoli cheese, I’d order it at a café, preferably in a bread bowl.
You probably know where this is heading…no more white potatoes for me, my kids are grown, and if I want to eat creamy soups, I have to make my own, since I can eat cream but not milk. Pity for me, I think, laughing: I HAVE to have cream. I’ve decided that my cholesterol will just have to take a back seat to my other issues, and strangely, wonderfully, my readings have decreased, even with cream in my diet.
Since I didn’t have a time-tested recipe to alter, I headed to the web, where the recipes listed processed cheese, milk, frozen broccoli, and other ingredients that were the opposite of inspiring. Instead, I whipped up my own version, hoping it would be good, as I was experimenting on my son, his girlfriend, and his roommate. I don’t usually make up recipes for company, but I’ll take that kind of a healthy risk every so often.
The pot of soup disappeared, as did the homemade biscuits.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons millet flour
2 cups water
Approximately 1 bunch broccoli, florets only, plus about 1/4 cup chopped stalks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat, adding onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned. Stir in millet flour and allow to cook for several minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer. Stir in broccoli and simmer, covered, ten minutes. Add cream and return to a simmer; then stir in both cheeses. Soup can be served after cheeses melt or can be left on warm till ready to serve. Yield: 4 portions. Can be frozen.
Any good gluten-free bread or biscuit will complement this hearty soup, but I prefer either cornbread or sorghum biscuits.
Sorghum Biscuits
1 and 1/3 cups sorghum flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
Rounded 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup (5 and 1/3 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream plus 1/3 cup water (or 2/3 cup whole milk); use more liquid only if needed
Mix all dry ingredients using a wire whisk. Slice the cold butter several times lengthwise and then crosswise, then cut butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender. Mixing with a fork, add only the amount of liquid needed to bind ingredients and form a rough ball. Be careful not to add extra liquid so that biscuits will remain flaky.
Knead in the bowl for about a minute. Then roll out dough on a floured surface, and cut with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes, checking to prevent burning (convection oven: 425 degrees for 8 minutes) Yield: 8-10 biscuits. Freezes well.
***
So, as the autumn weather has you thinking you’d love a hearty soup, pamper yourself with broccoli cheese and biscuits. Even if you can eat milk and processed cheese, you’ll find this soup irresistible. And if your kids don’t like broccoli, you might be even happier that there’s “more for the rest of us,” as my mother often said.
You probably know where this is heading…no more white potatoes for me, my kids are grown, and if I want to eat creamy soups, I have to make my own, since I can eat cream but not milk. Pity for me, I think, laughing: I HAVE to have cream. I’ve decided that my cholesterol will just have to take a back seat to my other issues, and strangely, wonderfully, my readings have decreased, even with cream in my diet.
Since I didn’t have a time-tested recipe to alter, I headed to the web, where the recipes listed processed cheese, milk, frozen broccoli, and other ingredients that were the opposite of inspiring. Instead, I whipped up my own version, hoping it would be good, as I was experimenting on my son, his girlfriend, and his roommate. I don’t usually make up recipes for company, but I’ll take that kind of a healthy risk every so often.
The pot of soup disappeared, as did the homemade biscuits.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons millet flour
2 cups water
Approximately 1 bunch broccoli, florets only, plus about 1/4 cup chopped stalks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat, adding onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned. Stir in millet flour and allow to cook for several minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer. Stir in broccoli and simmer, covered, ten minutes. Add cream and return to a simmer; then stir in both cheeses. Soup can be served after cheeses melt or can be left on warm till ready to serve. Yield: 4 portions. Can be frozen.
Any good gluten-free bread or biscuit will complement this hearty soup, but I prefer either cornbread or sorghum biscuits.
Sorghum Biscuits
1 and 1/3 cups sorghum flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
Rounded 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup (5 and 1/3 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream plus 1/3 cup water (or 2/3 cup whole milk); use more liquid only if needed
Mix all dry ingredients using a wire whisk. Slice the cold butter several times lengthwise and then crosswise, then cut butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender. Mixing with a fork, add only the amount of liquid needed to bind ingredients and form a rough ball. Be careful not to add extra liquid so that biscuits will remain flaky.
Knead in the bowl for about a minute. Then roll out dough on a floured surface, and cut with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes, checking to prevent burning (convection oven: 425 degrees for 8 minutes) Yield: 8-10 biscuits. Freezes well.
***
So, as the autumn weather has you thinking you’d love a hearty soup, pamper yourself with broccoli cheese and biscuits. Even if you can eat milk and processed cheese, you’ll find this soup irresistible. And if your kids don’t like broccoli, you might be even happier that there’s “more for the rest of us,” as my mother often said.
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