Emily's Cooking Blog

Prep Time: 20 Min Cook Time: 45 Min Ready In: 1 Hr 5 Min

Ingredients

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter

1/2 onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1/2 clove garlic, chopped

2 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder

1/2 pound (3 c.) fresh broccoli florets

1 cup half-and-half cream

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ice water

1-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

Melt butter in a fryingpan over medium heat; add chopped onions, carrots, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.

In a medium-sized cooking pot, add 2 cups water and chicken bouillon granules and bring to boil.

Add precooked onion mixture to soup pot.

Add broccoli florets, reserving a few pieces to be added near the end of cooking time.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until broccoli is just tender.

In a blender or food processor, puree soup in batches and return to pot.

Reheat soup.

Stir in half and half cream and remaining broccoli florets.

In a cup, mix flour with cold water to form a thin liquid.

Bring soup to boil; add flour mixture slowly, stirring constantly to thicken soup as desired.

Add soy sauce, black pepper, and stir well.

Garnish with chopped parsley (or carrot curls) when serving. Serve soup hot or cold. NutritionalInformation Amount Per Serving Calories: 247 | Total Fat: 16.3g | Cholesterol: 48mg

Source: Allrecipes.com

This past week my Commercial Cooking class also made Creamed Broccoli Soup. This soup involved three methods of thickening. One thing that went well was that this soup gave our small group of only three lots to do, no one was left standing around waiting for something to be finished. Something that did not go well was that our group seemed really unorganized compared with the other lab days. We were all over the place trying to complete everything without being late for our next class. If I were to make this recipe again I would trade roles with another group member and let them be the one to puree the vegetables, and I would work on preparing the other ingredients. I tend to work a bit faster than the other members in my group and I think this change would have made it so the timing of certain aspects of the recipe coming together would all happen correctly without any waiting in between. Something that we learned in class that was helpful in making this recipe was that it was important that the roux was opposite in temperature from the soup to prevent clumps from forming. Although I did not enjoy the smell, this soup was fun to make.