Pureed Broccoli-Leek Soup

I have never in my life cooked with leeks before.  I've always glanced at them in the produce aisle and wondered what they tasted like, but had never actually encountered a recipe that called for using them.  They look like scallions on steroids, so I always just assumed they had an onion-like flavor.  Imagine my delight when Brenna selected the pureed broccoli-leek soup from The White Rachel Ray Binder as the next recipe to try. 

I will admit that leeks were kind of on the expensive side ($2.49 for the bunch of 3), but they were well worth it.  I loved the flavor!  They were much sweeter and milder than a regular yellow onion, but still had the taste of an onion.  Plus they don't make you cry when you chop them up.  Like the onion, they grow in soil, but unlike the onion which develops a bulb, the leek is made up entirely of bundled leaf sheaths.  The grit gets in between the individual sheaths so you have to make sure you clean your leeks very well.  Te recipe does not call for soil, sand, grit or any type of debris.

I chose to make the soup on a night my husband had a work event, so he didn't get the pleasure of sampling the leek, but knowing my husband, it's green and resembles and onion so he wouldn't have tried it anyway...and since I'm not his mom I can't make him try one bite.  Tyler wasn't a fan of the soup but finished his whole bowl.  Brenna and Aiden ate a few bites and didn't care for it very much, but they did get grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it so they were all still happy and fed.  I think it may have actually been the Gruyere cheese which turned them off more so than the leek because it has a much stronger flavor than the cheeses they are used to.  I think if I had substituted Cheddar the soup would have went over much better with the kids.  

Either way, this gentle giant of the onion family has indeed earned at least one new fan!

Pureed Broccoli-Leek Soup

*Serves 4

1 large head of broccoli, cut into small florets

4 tbsp. butter

4 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced (I had HUGE leeks so I only used the 3 and could taste the flavor just fine)

Salt

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (normally I hate nutmeg, but it actually worked in the soup so don't leave it out!!)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 oz. of grated Gruyere cheese (about 1 cup)

The Leek aka the gentle giant!

Cut off the root end and the green tops.  Halve the white part lengthwise and discard the outer layer.

Soak the stalks in cold water for 10 mins and then rinse under cold running water to remove the grit from between the layers.

The broccoli florets ready to be steamed.  Cook the broccoli until soft, drain and set aside.

Once the leeks are cleaned, cut them into thin slices.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Add the leeks and sprinkle with salt.  Continue to cook and stir until the leeks are soft, approximately 15 mins.  Stir in the chicken broth and cook until half the broth is absorbed.

Place the leek mixture and broccoli in a food processor.  Add the cream and blend until smooth.

Add the pureed mixture back into the skillet, season with nutmeg, cayenne pepper and additional salt if needed.

The spices!

Add the cheese and cook on low heat, stirring constantly until the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through.

Since the heat was so low I decided to let the Assistant Chef have a hand at "cooking for real".  She was quite happy about this!

Assistant Chef helping to make the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Pureed Broccoli-Leek Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  I used one piece of American Cheese and one slice of Gruyere Cheese so I would feel more grown up and gourmet.  Slices of toasted baguette or other bread would be nice too!

Pureed Broccoli-Leek soup.

Recipe for: Pureed Broccoli-Leek Soup

http://www.momsaysjustonebite.blogspot.com/
To prepare: Leeks must be cleaned very well so you don’t have sandy soup!  Recipe yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

Directions

1 large head of broccoli, cut into small florets. 4 tbsp. butter 4 leeks, white parts only, cleaned well and thinly sliced. Salt ½ c. chicken broth ½ c. heavy cream ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg Pinch of cayenne pepper 4 oz. (about 1 cup) Gruyere cheese, grated

1.       Steam the broccoli florets until soft.  Drain and set aside. 2.       In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Add the sliced leeks, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring often, until soft.  This should take about 15 mins.  3.       Stir in the chicken broth and cook until half the liquid is absorbed. 4.       Add the leek mixture, broccoli and cream to a food processor and blend well. 5.       Transfer pureed mixture back to the skillet and season with the nutmeg, cayenne pepper and additional salt if needed. 6.       Add the cheese and continue to cook over low heat until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

One of my favorite vegetables is broccoli....I have always liked it and luckily for me, so do all of my kids.  Well, Tyler isn't a huge fan, but he'll eat it without too much complaining aside from the initial, "Oh man, not broccoli".  The "Mom Look" is usually the only "response" needed which telepathically sends the message, "Please do not complain about the meal I have spent an hour cooking you especially when there are kids in other countries who are starving and would gladly take your seat at this table" to him.  It's green which is not only my favorite color, but also means it's healthy (it has Beta-Carotene, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium and is a good source of fiber).  I probably make it at least once a week.  Whenever it's on sale I always buy fresh.  I think frozen broccoli is just as tasty as fresh, but the problem is that the bag of frozen cut broccoli is almost completely full of pieces of nasty broccoli stems with maybe a few florets thrown in.  My family doesn't like the stalk all that much because it has such a tough texture.  So I end up buying the more expensive bag of delicious broccoli florets.  Unfortunately, the florets are sold in 12 oz bags which is barely enough to give each person a serving.  Last week, the frozen florets were pretty much the same cost as the fresh, so I threw one in my cart. 

So, I bet you're wondering why buy the fresh when it has a huge stalk on it?  Didn't I just say that my family won't eat the stalk?  Well, let me tell you.  Up until a few months ago I found no use for the nasty stalks and would just sadly pitch them in the trash.  I HATE throwing food away.  I was watching the cooking channel and the lady was using some broccoli in a stir fry dish.  She cut the stalks off, set them aside and said, "I'll turn these into soup for lunch tomorrow".  Wow...why had I never thought of this before?!?!? GENIUS!! 

Although the stalk is tough on the outside, if you peel off the tough outer layer, the inside is nice and tender and still tastes like broccoli.  So, now I always turn my stalks into delicious broccoli cheese soup, which just happens to be in my Top 5 favorite soups of all time.  This time, since I had opted to eat leftovers the night I made spaghetti, I had the added bonus of some leftover florets thrown in!!  If you don't have any florets, no worries...it's still creamy and delicious!  This soup could easily be made as a cream of broccoli soup if you omit the cheese.  You could also easily substitute another vegetable if broccoli isn't really your thing.  Cauliflower, potato, celery, mushrooms or any combination of those vegetables would probably be quite tasty!!  So here's to you, Mr. Nasty Broccoli Stalk....thank you for shedding your tough exterior and allowing me to see your tender (and might I add delicious) side.

Broccoli Cheese Soup:

Leftover broccoli stalk, peeled and chopped

Leftover broccoli florets (if you have them, if not, that's okay too)

3 tbsp butter

1/3 c onion, diced

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

3 c milk

1 c shredded cheese (I used colby-jack this time.  Really any cheese would work.  You could also use more or less cheese depending on how cheesy you want it, or like I said, none at all if you just wanted a cream of broccoli)

    

Using a potato peeler, peel off the tough outer layer of the stalk.  For the smaller pieces I used a knife to trim.  Using a peeler for this would have probably resulted in the removal of my skin, which is not an ingredient in broccoli cheese soup!!

Chop the peeled stalk into small pieces.

Boil the broccoli stalk pieces in a small pan of boiling water until soft.  Mine simmered about 10 mins.



Drain broccoli pieces and place in a food processor with 1 cup milk and, if you have them, half of your leftover broccoli florets.  I used a mini processor so I did it in 2 batches (half the broccoli and 1/2 c milk each time).



Puree until smooth, transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.

Chop remaining broccoli florets into small pieces.

I had a chunk of cheese I needed to use up, so I grated it using a box grater.  Feel free to use the pre-shredded kind, I won't judge, but I think shredding your own tastes better.  The pre-shredded kind has additives to keep it from clumping together as well as something to prevent it from molding.  If you don't believe me, next time your at the grocery store compare a package of chunk cheese with the pre-shredded kind.  You might be surprised!!

In a saucepan, melt butter.  Add the diced onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 mins.



Make a roux by adding the flour and cooking another 3 - 5 mins, stirring constantly.

The finished roux.  This will make the soup nice and thick!!

Add the pureed broccoli mixture and remaining 2 cups milk.

Heat over medium-high heat, stirring until soup starts to thicken.  Add in the chopped broccoli florets at this time if you have them.

Stir in the shredded cheese, stirring until melted.

Lower heat and simmer, stirring until desired thickness is reached.  If your soup turns too thick, you can always thin it out with more milk.

Finished soup served with a piece of my leftover Irish soda bread.