Mum had a grown all those gorgeous veggies this winter and I happened to visit at the right time this year. Spent a few days relaxing in the winter sun and admiring and feasting on fresh veggies and simple home cooked meals. When I was coming back to Delhi, mum gave me a bag full of beautiful produce which consisted of lemons, cauliflowers, garlic, broccoli, radishes and turnips, carrots, all the greens, raw bananas and more.

Decided to do a quick and yum, broccoli and cheddar cheese soup on one of my hectic days from work. This was a great warm and fuzzy winter soup loaded with flavor and goodness. You can easily make a cauli version too.

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 15 minutes
SERVINGS: 2
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Low

INGREDIENTS: 

  1. Broccoli – 1 flower, diced
  2. Garlic – 2 cloves
  3. Chilli flakes
  4. Cheddar cheese – ½ cup, grated
  5. Milk – ½ litre
  6. All-purpose flour – 1 tablespoon
  7. Butter – 5 gm piece
  8. Olive oil – for tempering
  9. Dried Herbs – for seasoning
  10. Croutons – sides
  11. Salt – to taste

RECIPE:

  1. Dice the broccoli flower into medium bite size pieces.
  2. Add olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and allow it to heat.
  3. Add the pieces of broccoli, chilli flakes and some salt and allow them to saute for 5-6 minutes till they cook and get slightly tender.
  4. Remove the broccoli from the pan and add a dash of butter.
  5. Crush 2 cloves of garlic and add a tablespoon of all purpose flour.
  6. Once the flour cooks in about a minute and start turning a light shade of brown, add milk to the pan and stir constantly to avoid lump formation.
  7. Grate the cheese until it’s about ½ a cup.
  8. Once the milk comes to a boil, add to the grates cheese to the pan.
  9. Season with dried herbs and some salt, bearing in mind that some was added earlier to the broccoli too.
  10. Keep the sauce on low flame and once it thickens, add the cooked florets.
  11. In another pan, add a splash of olive oil and add some bread croutons and saute till crisp and golden.
  12. Serve the soup in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and crispy croutons.