Cream of Broccoli Soup with No Cream

This is a soup based on my mother's formula for "cream of green" soup. I've been mentioning it to a lot of people lately and there seems to be a lot of interest. The soup is quite healthy, and with a good crusty bread, a hearty winter meal. How is it healthy? No cream! I know, you are probably thinking...no cream? What's the point of a cream soup with no cream? You'll never know it's gone. Trust me and trust Matt. This is making a regular appearance every couple days for us, mostly due to Matt's obsession with broccoli. It's healthy, inexpensive and super delicious. You can also substitute asparagus for the broccoli for a cream of asparagus soup.

Soup for two.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 TBS butter
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (homemade is best, but if using store bought then be sure to get the low sodium type)
• one medium crown of broccoli, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces (florets and stalk)
• 2-6 TBS milk
• freshly ground black pepper
• freshly ground nutmeg
• salt

Instructions:

• Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat.
• Add onion and a pinch salt, cook over medium heat stirring regularly until translucent and slightly golden, but not brown or burnt.
• Add potato and the broth, so that the potato is covered. If using homemade broth, add a tsp of salt.
• Simmer until potato is tender, then add broccoli.
• Simmer until broccoli is tender.
• Turn off heat and carefully pour everything into a blender.
• Puree soup in the blender.
• Pour back into pot, stir in black pepper, nutmeg to taste and a tsp or so more salt, if needed (if using homemade broth, you probably will, if using store bought, probably not).
• Stir in milk to desired thickness of the soup.

At this point you can eat immediately or let the soup sit in the pot, with the lid on, for an hour or so. When ready to eat, heat slowly over low heat.

You could easily make this soup for 4 or 6 by multiplying, but you may have to blend the soup in a couple batches, depending on the capacity of your blender. Or, if you happen to own an immersion blender, you puree the soup right in the pot.

If healthy soup isn't your goal here, you can also turn this soup into a broccoli cheddar soup by whisking in a few ounces of grated cheddar cheese over low heat until melted.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy! Next time I make this I'll put a picture up!