Broccoli Cheddar Soup to Stop All the Feelings
a cheesy soup that tastes like actual broccoli and not glue
things you’ll need: broccoli, potato, onion, cheese, yogurt, the spices that you want (chili flake, garlic, etc), oil/butter, salt and pepper
inspiration and measurements from this recipe by Sarah Jampel on Bon Appetit (Basically)
incidentally gluten-free and vegetarian
Chapter 134
Even without the Orange Menace, the news continues to torment you. At this point, you’ve called the government officials or given direct aid or helped bail people out of jail or taken to the streets or any number of actual actions, and yet change still feels so very far away.
At times, you think an actual apocalypse is probably the only solution, and this is when you start to crave cheesy bowls of warm solace to fill the grief parts and weigh you down enough that you can’t just float out of your body. So, here you are, shredding 8 oz of cheese and trimming florets in order to exercise control and influence over something, anything.
In your quest to replace all the foods you used to just order at Breadera or Pottummy’s, back when walking into places was a casual affair, you finally happen upon a broccoli cheddar recipe that doesn’t also require a bunch of flour. If you wanted a cheesy flour soup, you would throw a grilled cheese in a blender with some hot water (which someone on the internet has definitely done and the video likely went viral).
You happen to like vegetables and like it when foods with vegetables actually taste like the vegetables themselves. This is why Cauliflower Soup starts by making a rich stock from the stalks and Corn Chowder leaches every drop of flavor from the dekernelled cobs.
Plus side, this recipe is only as expensive as the cheese you buy and can easily be done for under $10.
Once you’ve trimmed the florets from your broccoli crowns, peal the rough stuff from the stalks and roughly cube them. Chop an onion or two. Peel and cube a good-sized russet potato. Check back in and make sure you are still inside of your body.
In your favorite soup pot, melt some butter/oil and cook your onions with salt and pepper (and chili flake and garlic and whatever else you think you want) until translucent, before they start to caramelize. Add chopped broccoli stalks and potatoes and also 5 cups of water and a little more salt. Ground yourself by watching the bubbles go from little fisheyes all the way into a rolling boil full of potato starch and broccoli bits. Snap out of it. Drop it down to simmer and cover. Cook until the potatoes and broccoli bits are soft enough to blend smoothly.
Then, add half of your florets to the broccoli-potato water to quickly blanch. When they are bright green, throw it all in a blender. Realize, before you hit blend, that this is a terrible idea, a volcano of hot broccoli-potato water flashing through brain just in time. Divide the liquid in half and blend in batches, remembering to use a towel and keep a hand on the lid (you just go the rest of the Carrot Soup off the ceiling).
Return the smooth, now soup, liquid to the pot and give it a taste. Marvel at the way the potato worked its magic and the soup has some actual oompf to it. Add the remaining florets and cook until they are bright green.
Knowing that the fireworks of feelings popping off within you cannot be calmed without a healthy dose of dairy, stir in about 2 cups or so of cheddar (or swiss or a blend and, honestly, however much cheese might make you feel even a little better).
Once that’s all melted, turn off the heat and stir in some plain yogurt, and then salt and season to taste.
Put more cheese on top because you believe it will help. Stare into the cheesy greenness of your bowl. Listen to a guided meditation or your angriest favorite song. Take a break from the trials and doom scrolling. Take a minute to be not active and just eat your soup.
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