Procrastination Recipe: Broccoli Cheese Soup (Gluten-free)

On a rainy Sunday what's better than warming the house with kitchen smells? I would love to bake some bread, but, well, that's not happening. Gluten free or bust. So soup then, yes? I don't know why broccoli popped into my head but about mid-week I thought, I should make broccoli-cheese soup! And so I did.

Ingredients:

2 heads of broccoli (1 was normal size, the other was much smaller)

1 head cauliflower

2 cups whole milk

32 oz. veggie broth

16 oz. Velveeta

1 stick unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons flour (I used a non-wheat flour mix I keep in the house)

1 medium yellow or white onion

salt and pepper to taste

drizzle of olive oil

I cut the cauliflower and broccoli heads into big chunks then drizzled them with a lemon olive oil (from Trader Joe's, but you can use regular olive oil), sprinkled them with salt and pepper and baked them at 375 for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot I melted the butter and added in the diced onion. Once it had softened I sprinkled in the flour and cooked it for two minutes, to get rid of the flour taste. Then I added the milk. What's key is to stir almost constantly while the roux works its magic and thickens the sauce. Otherwise, flour can stick to the bottom of the pan and burn and that'll ruin the flavor of your sauce. As it thickens you can gradually add the Velveeta. Make sure you cube it into small pieces, so it melts easily. I like Velveeta because of how well it melts but you could certainly add another cheese - cheddar, Monterey Jack, Muenster, etc. 

Once all of the cheese has been added and the sauce has thickened (you've just made a cheese sauce - it takes about ten minutes) add a little salt and pepper and make sure to taste it. It tastes amazing so try not to eat it all just yet. 

At this point the veggies should be properly roasted. Add the veggie stock gradually while stirring and suddenly the cheese sauce becomes soup. Add in the veggies and let simmer on low for ten minutes. It'll soften the veggies and infuse the roasted flavor into the rest of the soup. 

For my birthday, my bestie Olivia gave me what I'd been wanting for years - an immersion blender! So I used that to blend most of the soup. I suggest chopping the broccoli into smaller pieces after removing it from the oven, that way you don't have to blend the soup. And even blending it, it's nice to have some chunks of broccoli remaining.

It makes a fair amount so I plan on freezing some but it would be great for a party or family gathering. And again, thank you Olivia for the perfect birthday present which I'm already putting to good use!

Happy eating!

~Stephanie