I have been trying to perfect this recipe for a while. It started a couple of years ago with the addition of coconut flour in an attempt to thicken the soup. It was okay, but severely lacking in the creaminess department. For me, I measure broccoli & cheese soup against the broccoli & cheese soup that I can get at Panera. Man, I love Panera. I seriously do. What joy it brings to me to walk into a Panera store and see and smell all of the different, beautiful breads and pastries. I can just imagine the chewy crust and soft warm interior of the breads. (Record scratch sound)...but I have a wheat allergy. So, you can imagine how torturous a trip to Panera can be for me. However, even though my allergy specialist in Washington was amazed at how I have managed to live my entire life and survive (I am literally allergic to EVERYTHING!), and promptly gave me an Epipen to carry around with me, from time to time, I will tempt fate, dive in to a nice bowl of soup with baguette on the side, and pay for it dearly for the next two days. What can I say? I am quite possibly a crazy, stupid, like to live on the wild side, rebel. And every time I do this, I swear I will never touch the stuff again, and then I decide to go to lunch with the hubby. In all fairness, I have been much better behaved as of late, probably due to a horrible experience during our cross-country trek that I will not get into here. Thank me now, because that story would mentally scar both of us.
So, back to my quest for a soup that I can actually eat that tastes like I got it from my favorite bread peddler. I saw a Pinterest pin a few months ago that linked to a blog that had creamy cauliflower soup. I pinned it, but sadly have not made it. The other day, I made meatloaf (which will be posted soon!), and as I was making mashed cauliflower, I thought about that recipe, and wondered if there was a way to incorporate it into my broccoli & cheese soup. So, given that today is a meat free day, I decided to try it out, and I must say that it is very close to my coveted Panera soup! I do admit that it would be AMAZING with crispy bacon crumbled on top, because everything is amazing with bacon! Alas, here you go...Broccoli & Cheese Soup inspired by Eat Drink Paleo-Paleo Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Bacon
Panera Style Broccoli Cheese Soup
1 small head of cauliflower, washed & cut into florets
3 TBS grass fed butter (I used Kerry Gold)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp sage
Steam cauliflower until tender. Carefully place into high power blender or food processor with butter, sea salt, and herbs. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBS grass fed butter (Again, I used Kerry Gold)
2 large carrots, washed, peeled, and diced into small cubes (see pic below)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 crowns of broccoli, washed and cut into small florets (keep the stems for another recipe)
6 cups of water
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp of salt free garlic seasoning (I used Lizzie's Kitchen, Oh, so Garlic Seasoning)
4 oz of a good, sharp, cheddar cheese, grated. (Preferably a grass fed cheese like Kerry Gold)
1. Heat dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter, and sauté the carrots, onion, and garlic until tender.
2. Add the sea salt, and garlic seasoning. Top with water, and bring to a boil, and then turn down to simmer.
3. Add broccoli florets, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Once the broccoli is tender, add the blended cauliflower to the pot, and stir to combine.
5. Take a stick blender, and blend some of the soup, but not all. You still want the small pieces of veggies. Add the shredded cheese, and give a good stir.
6. Eat the soup! You can top with some additional cheese. If you are able to eat meat, I'd suggest topping with some crispy crumbled bacon.
**Due to the added cheese this soup is not be considered Paleo. If you eat the Paleo way, or suffer from dairy allergies, refrain from adding the cheese, and substitute additional olive oil for the butter.
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