Use as much broccoli as you like but at least 1 FULL head. Cut up into pieces (doesn't matter size as you'll blitz these later) use the whole stem too, they have a lot of flavor and fiber. 1 medium/large onion and a few whole cloves of garlic. Boil gently in chicken or vegie stock until nice and tender, the amount of liquid you use here will depend on how much you want to add liquid cream or thicken with potatoes. Blitz in the blender or better yet in the pot with a hand blender. Then comes the fun part, Full fat, half fat, no fat. You choose! Full fat obviously would be some heavy cream added or some whole milk, depending on how thick you like your soups will depend on if you need one. Lower fat can include low fat milk or even fat free half and half. If you use a lot of liquid and want to thicken, use leftover baked potatoes, mashed and even oven roasted ones are good (blitz with the broccoli). A few sprinkles of boxed mashed potatoes works well too. Add some salt and pepper to taste (and anything else) and you are done!
I made this soup for dinner last night and served it with a loaf of bread. It was quite easy and my young kids ate it!! After blending, I added a pint of half and half and let it simmer until the bread machine was done.
Next time, I think I will use less half and half and I will saute the onions and garlic in butter before adding the broccoli and broth. This will add some flavor as it was a little bland. I added lots of salt and pepper, both during cooking and at the table.
All in all, a successful soup that I will try again. I can think of tons of cream soups that could be adapted from this recipe: Cream of Asparagus?
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