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.