While the farewell to summer may be a bit of a downer, the silver lining to the cooler weather is that it's soup season. With a plethora of recipes available, you'll never run out of inspiration.
Personally, there's nothing quite like savouring a hot, comforting bowl of soup - especially if it's enjoyed on a cold, rainy day. The joy of making your own soup is part of its charm. The simplicity of tossing all the ingredients into one pot and forgetting about it until mealtime is simply irresistible.
So, while scrolling through TikTok for recipe ideas - specifically for the inaugural soup of the season - I stumbled upon a video that had amassed over eleven million views and knew instantly that this was the one.
The viral broccoli and cheddar soup, shared by @cookwithauds, seemed like the ideal choice. Loaded with nutrients from broccoli and carrots, and topped off with a generous portion of cheddar cheese, it ticked all the boxes for a hearty comfort dish, reports the Daily Record.
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Having tried my hand at making it, I can vouch for the fact that this has easily become the best soup I've ever made. It was simple, delicious, indulgent and yielded plenty of servings - which tasted even better in the days that followed.
The chef had also chosen to garnish hers with crispy bacon for an added flavour boost.
Here's everything you need to whip up this soup - which serves four - and the steps you need to follow.
Broccoli cheddar soup.
Ingredients
- One white onion
- Five-six cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- Three tablespoons butter
- Salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder
- 1/4 cup flour
- Four cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup semi-skimmed milk
- 1/2 cup half & half (you can use single cream instead)
- Two cups cheddar cheese
- Head of broccoli
- Three shredded carrots
Firstly, prepare all your vegetables. Dice the onion, crush the garlic, roughly chop the broccoli - including the stalk - and grate the carrots.
Next, in a large pot with a lid, add a generous drizzle of olive oil and the butter, allowing it to melt over a medium heat. Add in the onions and let them soften for a couple of minutes, ensuring to stir them well before seasoning with salt, pepper, garlic granules and onion granules - I used about one teaspoon each of the seasonings.
Give this a good mix again before adding in the garlic too. After about 30 seconds, add in the flour.
This is where I think I went slightly wrong - I don't think I added enough, so it didn't thicken up as much as I would have liked. Then, give it another stir before gradually adding in the stock.
I used two vegetable stock cubes, dissolved in 800ml of boiling water.
Cover the pot and leave it to cook on a medium low heat for around 15 minutes. This is when I put the oven on to make a garlic baguette - because what's soup without some delicious carbs to accompany it?
Afterwards, add the milk and cream to the pot and then slowly add in the grated cheese. I used around 250g of grated extra mature, but made sure to save some to sprinkle on top of the soup when serving.
At this point, you can season to taste, before adding in the chopped broccoli and grated carrots.
Replace the lid and let it simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked. Once it's ready, portion it out into bowls, add a bit more cheese on top, and serve with your warm garlic bread.
