An indulgent cheddar soup, with something a little extra.
I used to not like soup. Any kind of soup. At all. But Broccoli Cheddar Soup changed that. Maybe that’s because Broccoli Cheddar Soup is more like digging in to a bowl full of cheese than a brothy Minestrone, but it changed everything for me. I love soup now, and I especially love this one — Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup.
Like its broccoli-cheddar cousin, it’s plenty cheesy and indulgent, but this one is also full of flavorful veggies to keep things balanced in both taste and texture. Cauliflower may be mild, but it’s a great addition here — it adds a touch of sweetness and a subtle nutty flavor, but it still lets that cheddar shine.
There is a time and a place for Velveeta but it’s not here. With flour, a combination of stock and half and half, and a good melting cheddar, you can get the ideal creamy-cheesy texture you want for a cheese soup. Chicken or vegetable stock works fine. You’ll also want an onion, some garlic, a carrot, about a head each of broccoli and cauliflower florets, some Dijon mustard, and two cups of grated cheddar. (Mild, medium, or sharp is up to you!)
The way to get a nice thick and creamy texture here without any gloppiness is to start with a roux and in this case you’re going to cook some onions and garlic down in butter before stirring in the flour. You don’t need to cook the flour for too long here to add flavor, a minute or two will do just until it smells a little toasty. From there, you whisk in your stock and half and half and bring them up to the simmer.
Aside from the deliciousness of this soup, the other nice thing about it is that it’s very quick to put together. At this point, you’re adding the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot and simmering them just until they’re tender, which only takes fifteen minutes. Dijon mustard goes in here too, which adds some acidity to cut through the creaminess. It just rounds things out, more or less.
To keep things from splitting, you’ll want to stir in your cheese off the heat at the end. Do it by the handful and it should melt in easily and beautifully. All that’s left to do is eat, and that’s truly the best part.
