broccoli soup save

If you ever kill perfectly good broccoli by steaming into oblivion, fear not, there IS a save:

creamy broccoli soup

I destroyed the broccoli I made to go with our mushroom ravioli, but before I went to bed that night I transformed it into to a perfectly good meal. This salvation soup was my mother's genius suggestion, and this epicurious recipe served as my guide. Should overcooked broccoli happen to you, simply saute the soggy florets with a little garlic and butter, and then mix in a spoonful of flour or two, (I used gluten free bread mix, which was fine in such a small dose). After the flour is properly cooked, add stock and let simmer. Puree it up with an immersion blender and then add half and half, with salt and pepper to taste. I then grated in what was left of my parent's white cheddar cheese and almost all of their romano cheese. This became a lovely and not overwhelmingly cheesy dish.

To prove to you the restorative powers of this preparation, I'll recount my brother's initial skepticism and ultimate conversion. I offered some to Matt when I was heating it up for lunch, and he gave me a look you would expect from a picky four year old. Broccoli is not without its detractors, and that is probably due in large part to how bland and tasteless it becomes when it is terribly, horribly overcooked. This soup, however, completely rescues a dead vegetable. When I finally convinced Matt to try just a spoonful, he was all "wow, Sarah, this is DELICIOUS!" and helped himself to a big ladleful. So lest you think I'm biased, know that this one has the Matt Cascone stamp of approval!