May 17th, 2011

*These pictures are on my borrowed Canon from friend after her photography class.*

My mom kindly purchased me a subscription to Cook's Illustrated Magazine.  It’s a completely different look to a food magazine.  It’s black and white and has way more copy than pictures.  It’s also very scientific.  Now my least favorite subject in school was science and I’m a huge fan of the magazine.  I think because it’s about food, I find it interesting.  They have TONS of tips and also will give ample detail upon arriving at a recipe and the test kitchen back story on ingredients, amounts, and technique.  I came upon this recipe:

I love broccoli cheese soup and have made it many times, but it’s never quite the same as in restaurants (and yes, I know in restaurants it’s probably all the cream, cheese, and butter than makes it delicious).  Cooks Illustrated tried to come up with a yummy, yet healthy version and nailed it.

I served it with garlic parmesan crostinis.

Here’s the recipe (you can’t get their recipes online without signing up for a trial subscription, those tricky Cook’s Illustrated people.  Wonder if they have a swimsuit issue, that could get interesting?)

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces including stems

1 medium onion, roughly chopped, about 1 cup

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (2 teaspoons)

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

Pinch Cayenne pepper

Table salt

3-4 cups of water

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups low sodium chicken or veggie broth

2 loosely packed cups of baby spinach

3/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. Heat butter in large dutch oven over medium high heat.  When foaming asides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes.  Add 1 cup water and baking soda.  Bring to simmer, cover, cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

2. Add broth and 2 cups of water and increase heat to medium-high.  When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.  Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute.  Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup.   Return soup to dutch over, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup of water.  Seasonn to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve, passing extra parmesan separately.

(I skipped the whole transferring to blender thing and used my immersion blender, then added the cheese)