Author Jodi Picoult's Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Best-selling author Jodi Picoult treats her family to a special soup

Who can forget the meal you cooked for your first anniversary? (Cornish game hens, on the one and only occasion I’ve used my wedding china.) Or the food that your picky toddler would always eat, no matter what? (Salad. Go figure.) I know that when my children grow up, certain dishes are going to take them right back to our dinner table.

Our weekends are hectic. There’s the play rehearsal, the skating lesson, my son’s a cappella group. We all look forward to a good soup on Sunday night. It’s a time to sit down and relax (and figure out who still has homework to do). We dip bread in our soup and talk about what we’ve done over the past few days and what we’ll be doing the following week. I hope my kids will think of these Sundays someday when they see broccoli-cheddar soup on a menu.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
4 cups broccoli, chopped
Dash of garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar
Slices of crusty bread

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, mix chicken broth, onion, broccoli, garlic powder, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.

2. Remove bay leaves and pour mixture into a food processor. Pulse until smooth, approximately 1 minute. Reserve in a bowl.

3. In the original saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, salt, and a little pepper until a thick paste forms. Add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add cheddar; stir until it dissolves.

4. Pour in broccoli mixture and cook until blended. If necessary, add more chicken broth to thin. Season with additional salt and pepper. Serve with bread for dipping.

Serves: 6.  Per serving: 300 calories, 16g carbs, 14g protein, 20g fat, 60mg cholesterol, 1,000mg sodium, 2g fiber

Jodi's Tips:

• “Got an immersion blender? Skip the food-processing step and purée the broccoli right in the pot so you don’t have to clean yet another appliance or bowl.”
• “This soup heats up again nicely for a next-day meal. Just add a little chicken broth to reach the desired consistency.”
• “To make a lighter version of this recipe, use other vegetables—and leave out the cheese.”

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