(light music) (Natasha sighs) - (chuckles) Hey everybody, it's Natasha of natashaskitchen.com and I have such a treat for you. I'm gonna show you how we
make broccoli cheese soup. This is creamy, cheesy,
loaded with fresh broccoli and oh so delicious. And stay tuned for the creative way we serve this at the end. It is my son's favorite. Let's get started. (bell dings) This takes just 30 minutes to make, so prep all of your ingredients, so they're ready when you need them. Chop four cups of small broccoli florets and you can also use
the stems if you want, just peel and dice them
into bite sized pieces. Peel three medium carrots and
slice them into thin rings. If you haven't already,
make sure to watch our video on how to sharpen a knife
and learn basic knife skills. You'll need one cup of finely diced onion, so slice one medium onion. We're just using a regular yellow onion, but you can use a white
onion or a sweet onion. You've probably noticed,
I used my food scraper a ton in my prep work. I love this tool and I will
link to it in the notes. And last but not least, we're gonna get the cheese
out of the refrigerator. You'll need 2/3 cup of
shredded Parmesan cheese and two cups or four ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. This box grater gets
used a ton in my kitchen and I will link to this as well. In a five and a half quart
dutch oven or soup pot, over medium heat melt
two tablespoons of butter and we always use unsalted
butter in all of our cooking so we can control the salt. Add the finely diced
onion and sliced carrots and saute until the onion has softened or about five minutes,
stirring occasionally. (metal clanking) Next, add four cups of
low sodium chicken broth. We do have a recipe for
homemade chicken broth which I will link in the notes. Season with one teaspoon of garlic powder, one teaspoon of sea salt, a
quarter teaspoon of black pepper and a quarter teaspoon of dried thyme. Bring that to a boil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, bring
it back to a simmer then partially cover and continue cooking until the broccoli is softened. This takes about 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the
thickness of the broccoli. It's a great time for a coffee break and if you want a closer
look at our coffee station or the rest of our kitchen, check out our kitchen video tour. Once the broccoli is at
your desired done-ness, remove and set aside
two cups of vegetables. You'll need to blend the
remaining soup in the pot. You can use an immersion blender and blend it right inside the pot, or transfer it in batches to
a blender or food processor. Blend it until it's completely smooth or your desired consistency. Now to thicken the soup, in a small bowl combine half a cup of heavy whipping cream
with three tablespoons of all purpose flour and
whisk vigorously until smooth and no longer lumpy. Then blend in one
teaspoon of Dijon mustard. The mixture will be thick like a frosting. Bring the blended soup back to a boil, then whisk in the cream and flour mixture, whisking for about three to four minutes or until it's completely
smooth and thickened. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in your Parmesan cheese and
shredded cheddar cheese. Continue stirring until the cheese is dissolved into the soup. We take it off the heat
before blending in the soup because if the mixture gets
too hot or starts to boil, the cheese may clump together and won't incorporate properly. Lastly, stir in the cooked vegetables that we set aside earlier
and season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. The soup is ready to be served. You can transfer it into bowls and serve with toast or crackers, but our favorite way to
serve is in a bread bowl. To make individual bread bowls, you'll need six to seven inch in diameter sourdough round loaves,
also called boules. Using a serrated knife, cut off the tops. Scoop out the centers with a spoon to make room for the soup and don't get rid of those centers. They are delicious and I love
to serve them with the soup. Cut one bread bowl for each serving, then broil in the center of your oven for two to three minutes, keeping a close eye on
them so they don't burn. Ooh! I love recreating restaurant
favorites at home. And I am excited because I'm hungry. So let's do this taste test. Okay, here we go. Ooh, kinda hot. Oh and toasting the breads like this makes it taste like it
just came out of a bakery 'cause it crisps the outside
and keeps the center soft. It is so good. It tastes super fresh. Okay. Now, I'm just gonna ladle a
generous amount of the soup right into the bread bowl. It's so fun. (laughs) I serve it for this like my son. He gets excited 'cause it's
just like in the restaurant. Yum yum. Creamy and cheesy. All right. And I love to serve this
while it's still piping hot, because once you add a little bit of extra cheddar cheese over the top, it melts onto the soup then you get this lovely little cheese pull. So that's what's gonna happen right now. Let's give it a second. Okay, I'm just gonna do this. I'm so hungry. (laughs) Here we go. Oh, this is so creamy. Yum and loaded with broccoli and veggies. I love that it's just half
a cup of cream in this. But the texture is amazing. Mm. I love that this is staring
back at me. (laughs) Mm. Mm. Wow. That is a 10. Seriously, comfort in a bowl and the ultimate broccoli cheese soup. I think what really makes this is not just adding the cheddar cheese, but also that Parmesan which
just adds an extra layer of cheesy goodness to this soup. Wow, (laughs) if you love
broccoli cheese soup, you have to have to try this and that little bit of
Dijon mustard in there, and a little bit goes a long way, but it really amps up all the flavors and brings this together
and remember I said to keep the inside of the
bread bowl for dipping? Ah, this is just the best way to soak up that creamy goodness. Dunk it right in. Mm. And these sourdough bread
bowls, they're so fun. They're just like out of the restaurant. This is my son's favorite way to eat this. Feels like eating out and then also, because we toasted the bread
bowl it literally tastes and the texture is just like
something out of a bakery. So delicious. Look at that. Listen to the crunch. (bread crunches) Make this soup. You're gonna feel like
you're winning at life. (laughs) I'm gonna go enjoy this. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and we'll see you in our next video.
