Olga's Kitchen Broccoli Soup

When I was younger, I worked as a hostess at Olga's Kitchen.
The job sucked up the majority of my summer. It was one of those jobs where the hours are right in the middle of the day, generally 11 am - 9 pm, which meant that I spent my evenings staying up until 4 am and sleeping in until 10:30 or 11:30. I had more than a few "bad days." And to top it all off, I hated all of the food there.
Well, almost all of it.
Amidst the entire menu, there was one item that I will admit to liking, and, actually craving.
Broccoli soup.
Smooth, creamy, delicious, (and probably full of butter), it was my salvation through long days of work. 
While I refuse to go back to my old working establishment, I've been able to make a fairly easy copycat version with 1/2 the fat and twice the joy.



To make enough of this soup for you and a friend, you will need: 

¼ cup chopped onion

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup finely chopped fresh or frozen broccoli

1 bay leaf (optional)

3/4 cup milk

½ teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

salt

Saute onion in butter until tender. Add flour, stirring well. 

Pour in your chicken broth, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and white pepper. Next, add you broccoli. To do this, grab your florets and a very sharp paring knife. Saw across the tops of your broccoli, like you're shaving off the little buds, letting them fall into the pot.

When the tops are all gone, saw some of the stems off too so you have some texture to your soup.

Turn the heat up to high and bring the soup to a boil for 1-2 minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and tender. 

Reduce heat and remove bay leaf. Stir in milk. If the soup isn't to your desired thickness level, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Enjoy immediately with a thin piece of italian bread drizzled with olive oil.

Tweet