Claire Robinson’s Fabulous Creamy Broccoli Soup

While I was studying for another EMT test, I managed to catch Five Ingredient Fix on the Food Network this past weekend.  I like Claire Robinson’s show – she is entertaining, and the recipes are easy to pull together.  So when I saw her make this Creamy Broccoli Soup, I knew that I had to use up some broccoli in the fridge on this recipe.

It’s fantastic.  My husband had two bowls the first night, and we managed to share the leftovers.  I tasted the soup before the addition of the mascarpone, and the soup is delicious (and low fat) even if you leave it out.  I also added a dash of cayenne, and a bullion cube because I added a cup of water to the recipe to make up for the greater amount of broccoli that I was using in the recipe.

This soup will be making frequent appearances at my dinner table, that’s for sure!

Creamy Broccoli Soup
Adapted from a recipe by Claire Robinson

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 2 pounds fresh broccoli florets, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water (plus additional if you need to thin out the soup)
• 1 bullion cube
• 8 ounces mascarpone 

Directions

Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook briefly to soften, 3 to 4 minutes, but do not brown. Stir in the broccoli, and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth, water, and bullion cube, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, then cover the pan and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully add the soup to a blender, in small batches, and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Pour the puree into a clean large saucepan over low heat. Add hot water to thin , if necessary. Whisk in the mascarpone. Taste and adjust the seasoning, as necessary.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with a small dollop of mascarpone.