From “The Best of America’s Test Kitchen”. Posted for safe-keeping.
From the cookbook: “This soup has all the creaminess and richness of regular cream of broccoli soup, but with less than half the calories and a fraction of the fat.”
Notes: Large head of broccoli = about 1 1/2 lbs. For a vegetarian soup, you can us all vegetable broth (the soup will taste sweeter.) Do not boil the soup once the half-and-half has been added. Boiling will cause the half-and-half to curdle.
Ingredients: [‘head broccoli’, ‘onion’, ‘vegetable oil’, ‘salt’, ‘garlic cloves’, ‘unbleached all-purpose flour’, ‘dry white wine’, ‘bay leaf’, ‘low sodium chicken broth’, ‘low sodium vegetable broth’, ‘half-and-half’, ‘pepper’]
Quantity of Ingredients: [“1 large head broccoli, cut florets into 1-inch pieces, enough stalks peeled and chopped fine to make 3/4 cup (discard any remaining stalks.)”,”1 cup minced onion”,”1 teaspoon vegetable oil”,” salt”,”3 garlic cloves, minced “,”1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour”,”1/4 cup dry white wine”,”1 bay leaf”,”1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth”,”1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth”,”1/2 cup half-and-half”,” pepper”]
Number of Servings: 4
Steps: [‘Combine the chopped broccoli stalks, onion, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.’, ‘Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the wine with the bay leaf and cook until the wine is absorbed, about 1 minute.’, ‘Whisking constantly, gradually add the broths. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened and the broth no longer tastes of flour, about 5 minutes.’, ‘Add the florets and continue to simmer, uncovered, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.’, ‘Puree the mixture in a blender (or food processor) until smooth, and return to a clean saucepan. Stir in the half-and-half and cook over low heat until just hot (do not boil), about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.’]