'Tis the Season for Broccoli!
December 10, 2008 12:37 AMIt’s not very often that we have real “winter” in Thailand. By winter, I mean crisp winds that are cool enough to wear sweaters outside. While European countries may consider this type of climate “summer”, us Thais are excited about rummaging in our closet for the cardigan that we only got to wear once last year. After all, winter weather usually lasts for about 2 days in Bangkok.
This year, along with all the weird and wonderful things that have been occurring in Thailand, the lovely weather has actually hung around long enough for us to enjoy.
The temperatures are perfect for growing broccoli and in the northern provinces of Thailand, broccoli is now one of the crops grown. What better way to support local farmers than by making broccoli soup, which not only promotes the use of local produce but is also great for warming up your body in this chilly weather? Just a word of warning though – this recipe is high in fat so if you’re watching your weight…well, at least I warned you first!
Extra Rich and Chunky Broccoli Soup
(Makes 6 servings)
- 5 Tbsp. salted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 small heads or 1 big head (about 500 g.) broccoli
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wash the broccoli and cut into florets. Peel the stems and chop into little cubes. Set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and celery, and sauté until soft. Add chicken stock and whisk with the onions and celery until thoroughly mixed. Bring to a boil.
Add the broccoli stems to the soup and return to a boil. Add broccoli florets and bring to a boil once again. Reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Using a whisk or a blender, whisk/blend the soup briefly until the broccoli pieces are in small chunks.
To make the roux, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour. Stir or whisk until the mixture thickens to the consistency of wet paste and the color turns a light caramel brown.
Add a ladle of broccoli soup to the roux and whisk until incorporated. Add another ladle of soup and continue to whisk if the mixture is still too thick. Once you have a smooth creamy mixture, transfer to the soup pot and stir well.
Whisk in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve piping hot with a piece of crusty bread.
Feeds for Jup's Pintoh!
4 Responses to “'Tis the Season for Broccoli!”
Did you take those pictures yourself? They look great
your weather is all thanks to GLOBAL WARMING woman! it’s called CLIMATE CHANGE! hahahah you shouldn’t be too pleased about it.
anyways i wanna make this but i don’t like celery and i can’t trust myself to get chicken stock, so, i’m gonna wait till one of these days you and i go shopping together and you teach me how to make stuff.
K: Thailand used to have weather this nice during the winter way back when I was still a kid. The past few years have been really hot though, so this year is a nice change.
You don’t even taste the celery in the soup but if it really bothers you, you can just omit it altogether. As for the chicken stock, you can buy canned kinds if you can’t make your own stock! But making your own stock is really simple! Come on, put the blender we gave you to good use!
that blender is still sitting in the box. i HAVE stared at it and imagined stuff i made though, if that helps. you should have taught me how to use it before you left! oh wait, better yet, come again and teach me!
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